The National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Bernard Bediako Baidoo has won the parliamentary by-
election held at Akwatia in the Eastern Region on Tuesday.
A lawyer and the Constituency Secretary of the NDC, Mr Baidoo polled of 18,199 votes out of a total valid votes of 33, 516 to clinch victory.
His closest contender, Mr Solomon Kwame Asumadu of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) garnered 15,235 votes.
A third aspirant, Patrick Owusu, of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) secured 82 votes.
The election recorded a total of 303 Rejected Ballots.
Addressing the media after being declared the winner, Mr Baidoo reiterated his confidence in winning the polls even before it started.
He said he would champion development for the people of Akwatia and assured that he would work on ‘lawful’mining in the area.
“It’s a clear mandate and we won’t take it for granted,” Mr Baidoo added.
The by-election, which took place across 119 polling stations, follows the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Mr Ernest Yaw Kumi of the NPP, who won the seat in the 2024 general election.
The voting process was generally peaceful except a scuffle between some executives of the NPP and NDC at the Akwatia Lorry Station Polling Centre Tuesday afternoon.
Polls opened at 0700 hours and closed at 1700 hours. The deployment of election materials commenced at about 0400 hours.
By 0600 hours, some of the polling stations within the Akwatia township had finished their set up.
Akwatia, a traditional swing seat, has alternated between the NPP and
NDC since 1992.
In 1992, the first election of the Fourth Republic, the seat was won by Gilbert Kwasi Agyei of the NDC.
In 1996, Alhaji Mohammed Erzuah Siam, also of the NDC, succeeded him. The NPP broke the dominance in 2000 when Kinston Akomeng Kissi captured the seat, which he retained in 2004.
In 2008, the NPP’s Kofi Asare won in a highly disputed election that required a rerun in six polling stations.
The NDC regained the seat in 2012 with Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed before losing it again to the NPP’s Mercy Adu-Gyamfi in 2016.
In 2020, Henry Yiadom Boakye of the NDC snatched it back, only for the NPP’s Ernest Kumi to win in 2024.
Source: GNA
Source: ghanabusinessnews.com
