Keep Your Heads Up

-Akufo-Addo Cheers Up NPP

President Nana Akufo-Addo has taken the last Tuesday’s by-election in Assin North, which was fought fiercely between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP),as one of the happenings in politics.

Reacting to news about the NPP’s defeat, the President urged members of his party not to despair, but keep their heads up and leave to fight another day.

According to him, the governing party once held the Assin North seat and so was hopeful that in the not-too-distant future, the seat will revert to the elephant party.

“I urge members of my party, the New Patriotic Party, to keep their heads up, recognising that, in a democracy, there are winners and losers, and that we live to fight another day. We once held the Assin North seat, and I am confident that, sooner rather than later, Assin North will be blue again,” he stated.

The President, in a statement on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, also congratulated the opposition NDC on its victory on Tuesday.

He also sent a congratulatory message to the Electoral Commission (EC) and the security agencies for organizing a successful exercise. He also applauded the media for providing an extensive coverage of the election.

He indicated that Ghana’s democratic credentials were strengthened even further on Tuesday, following the conduct of a peaceful election in Assin North.

“Yesterday, Tuesday, 27th June 2023, Ghana’s democratic credentials were strengthened even further, following the conduct of peaceful and credible elections in the Assin North by-election.

“I congratulate warmly the Chairperson and Members of the Electoral Commission, again, for a job well-done. The security services are to be commended for maintaining law and order during the holding of the elections; as is the media for providing extensive coverage before, during and after the elections.

I congratulate the National Democratic Congress on its victory yesterday,” he posted on his Facebook page, sighted by The Anchor.

In a similar move, lawyer and journalist Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has also congratulated the NDC for winning the Assin North constituency by-election.

“Democracy, indeed, works in Ghana. Congratulations to the National Democratic Congress! Last May, the ruling New Patriotic Party won and retained the Kumawu parliamentary seat in a by-election necessitated by the death of the MP. Congratulations to the NPP! Yesterday, the NDC won and retained the Assin North seat, necessitated by a court decision,” the tweet read.

Mr.Otchere-Darko, who was in the constituency to campaign for the NPP, was particularly excited about the high voter turnout.

Analyzing the Assin North constituency by-election and the Kumawu one, which was held barely two months ago and won by the NPP, Mr.Otchere-Darko said it was interesting that the two parties increased their margins in the respective elections more than they did in the general elections.

“Both by-elections registered very high voter turnouts. Both parties performed better in their respective by-election victories than they did in the 2020 parliamentary contests there. NPP won the 2023 Kumawu by-election with a much bigger margin than they did in the 2020 parliamentary race there. NDC also did much better yesterday in Assin North than in 2020. This shows the strengths and readiness of both parties as we approach Dec 2024,” he stated.

The President and the NPP especially, on the eve of the election, campaigned vigorously for the NPP’s candidate for continuous development.

The by-election results showed the NDC’s James Joe Gyakye Quayson polled 17,245 votes representing 57.56%, while Charles Opoku of the NPP garnered some 12,630 votes, representing 42.15%.

The Liberal Party of Ghana’s (LPG) candidate, Sefenu Bernice Enyonam, had a paltry 87 votes, representing 0.29%.

The keenly-contested Assin North constituency by-election stemmed from the decision by the Supreme Court’s nullification of the constituency’s 2020 parliamentary poll, which was won by Mr.Gyakye Quayson.

The Supreme Court found Quayson guilty of owing allegiance to Canada prior to filing his forms to contest in the 2020 polls.

The criminal aspect of the case is still pending at the court, following a direction by the apex court to parliament to expunge his name from their records.

Source:Anchorghana.com