Voters in the Assin North constituency in the Central Region will be casting their votes today Tuesday, June 27, to elect a new Member of Parliament.
The candidates vying for the seat include Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), James Gyakye Quayson of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG).
A survey by Global Info Analytics shows that Mr. Opoku of the NPP has a slight lead over Mr. Quayson of the NDC.
The survey, which was conducted between June 15 and 20, 2022, found that 46.7% of respondents said they would vote for Mr. Opoku, while 45.6% said they would vote for Mr. Quayson.
The remaining 6.9% of respondents said they were undecided.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), George Akuffo Dampare on June 26, met with the leadership of the two main political parties ahead of the by-election.
The meeting, held at the Assin State College SHS aimed to promote dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between the political parties and the police force.
Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo has appealed to the electorates in Assin North constituency in the Central Region to vote massively for Charles Opoku, the parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the by-election for growth and development.
Addressing a mammoth rally at Assin Bereku on Sunday (25 June), he said, “Please vote for Charles so I can work with him to bring you more developments in Assin North”.
The rally was attended by big wigs of the party aspiring to become flagbearers such as Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central, Alan Kyerematen, a former Trade and Industry Minister, Boakye Agyarko, a former Energy Minister, Edward Addai-Nimo, a former MP for Asante Mampong among others.
Others were the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, national executives, ministers of state, MPs, chief executives of public institutions and many more.
The polls will take place on Tuesday 27 June 2023. It is a straight race between the NPP’s Charles Opoku and the opposition NDC’s James Gyakye Quayson who was ousted as MP for the area by the Supreme Court, which found errors in his candidature in the 2020 elections due to his status as dual citizen at the time.
President Nana Akufo-Addo reminded the people that though they voted for him in the 2020 elections, in the parliamentary elections it was the National Democratic Congress candidate who won.
He pointed out that since then it has been one court case or the other for Quayson.
“It is the reason why you need to bring the NPP back for the seat,” he said.
Vote for development not legal battles
President Nana Akufo-Addo pleaded with the electorates not to make a mistake by voting for Quayson again since they need developments and not legal battles.
“Vote for Charles Opoku since he has you at heart,” Akufo-Addo said. “He is ready to serve you. Not somebody who will waste the time in court.”
“Charles Opoku is number 1 and let’s remember to vote for him because we stand for truth,” he added.
NPP is confident of recapturing the Assin North seat relying on several engagements with constituents and the numerous projects by the Akufo-Addo-led Administration.
Speaking at the final rally, the party’s general secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, was optimistic “the NPP will recapture the Assin North seat.”
“We are delivering on our development mandate in Assin North. We delivered good roads, building two major hospitals; completed a polyclinic; expanding market blocks, school blocks and dormitories,” Frimpong added.
Frimpong said the people of Assin North deserve a development-oriented MP and Opoku has through his Akosua Baako Foundation embarked on numerous social projects and interventions and is the best person to represent them in parliament.
