Story by Mudasiru Abdul Yakeen, Akwatia
The Akwatia constituency in the Eastern region is gearing up for its upcoming by-election on September 2, as the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Bernard Bediako Baidoo, goes head-to-head with the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Solomon Kwame Asumadu.
The by-election was necessitated by the death of Member of Parliament for the constituency, Ernest Yaw Kumi, who only served for just seven months.
The battle line for a successor was drawn on Monday when Mr. Baidoo, who currently serves as the NDC constituency secretary, emerged victorious in the party’s parliamentary primary, securing 380 votes out of 980 valid ballots cast.
He defeated two other contenders, Henry Boakye Yiadom (popularly known as Okoyo), a former MP for Akwatia and Rasmus Koneh Ali who garnered 226 votes and 366 votes respectively.
The NPP’s Mr Asumadu, on the other hand, was unanimously endorsed to contest as the party’s parliamentary candidate in the upcoming by-election.
Akwatia appears to be a swing seat with both parties having occupied the seat four times with the latest being Mr Kumi who couldn’t exhaust his term of office.
The NDC had previously held the seat in 1992,1996, 2012 and 2020 with the NPP occupying the seat in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2024.
In the 2024 general election, Mr. Kumi polled 19,269 votes while the NDC’s Mr. Boakye managed 17,206.
Considering the fact that the gap between the two leading contenders was just about 2,000 votes coupled with the fact that it is a swing constituency, the stakes are very high in this by-election.
All forms of political campaigns, including house-to-house campaigns, are being deployed with vigour to garner as many votes as possible.
Meanwhile, concerns continue to be raised about the need for adequate security before, during and after this by-election.
This call comes on the heels of the recent electoral violence that marred the re-run of some 19 polling stations in the Ablekuma North constituency during which journalists, political activists were openly assaulted by the Police and persons associated with the ruling NDC.
