The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged members of his political party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to maintain their composure and be confident that the party will reclaim the Assin North constituency seat sooner rather than later.
The President's comment was posted on his Facebook wall on June 28, 2023, a day after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the by-election in Assin North to the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
"Yesterday, June 27, 2023, Ghana's democratic credentials were bolstered following the conduct of peaceful and credible elections in the By-Election for Assin North. I again extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Chairperson and members of the Electoral Commission for a job well done.
"The security services should be commended for maintaining law and order during the elections, as should the media for providing extensive coverage prior to, during, and after the elections. President Akufo-Addo congratulated the National Democratic Congress on its victory yesterday on his Facebook wall.
"I urge members of my party, the New Patriotic Party, to keep their chins up, recognizing that in a democracy, there are victors and losers, and that we will live to fight another day.
We once held the Assin North seat, and I am confident that, sooner rather than later, Assin North will once again be blue," continued the President's essay.
Result of a by-election
Following the June 27 by-election, James Gyakye Quayson, the candidate for the National Democratic Congress, retained the Assin North seat for the NDC.
Gyakye Quayson received 17,245 votes (57.56%) to defeat his chief opponent, Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who received 12,630 votes (42.15%). Bernice Enyonam Sefenu, the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) candidate, received 87 votes, or 0.29 percent of the total votes cast.
The total number of valid votes cast was 29,962, with a total of 30,418 votes cast. There were 456 rejected ballots and the turnout was 74.23%. There are 40,978 registered voters in the district.
Despite a high court ruling that his election as a member of parliament in the 2020 election was unconstitutional, Quayson continued to hold himself out as a member of parliament and was observed attending House sessions and performing parliamentary duties.
Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, a resident of Assin North and petitioner in the high court action, lodged an application with the Supreme Court seeking an injunction against Quayson.
He also sought an interpretation of Article 94 (2a) of the 1992 constitution of the republic, which states that "a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he – (a) owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana".
The Supreme Court's injunction will remain in effect until the conclusion of the application seeking interpretation of Article 94 (2a). The high court of Cape Coast prohibited Quayson from running for Assin North on the NDC ticket.
On Wednesday, July 28, 2021, Justice Kwasi Boakye also ordered that the constituency hold new parliamentary elections. This occurred after Michael Ankomah-Nimfah filed a petition with the Cape Coast high court seeking to annul the MP's election.
In the 7 December 2020 parliamentary election, Quayson received 17,498 votes to Abena Durowaa Mensah's 14,792 ballots for the New Patriotic Party.
On 30 December 2020, Michael Ankomah-Nimfah filed a petition with the Cape Coast high court challenging Quayson's eligibility to serve as a member of parliament.
He argued that the MP was ineligible because he was still a Canadian citizen at the time he (Quayson) submitted his nomination to run for parliament.
He argued that the act of filing was contrary to Article 94 (2a) of the 1992 constitution and Section 9(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1992 (PNDCL 284).