The Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, has apologised to Ghanaians after failing to honour his promise to resign if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the Akwatia by-election.
Ahead of the polls, Okyere Baafi vowed to step down should the NPP be defeated, but following Tuesday’s election on September 2, which saw the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s Bernard Baidoo win with 18,199 votes against the NPP’s Solomon Kwame Asumadu’s 15,235, the MP backtracked on his pledge.
“Maybe in hindsight, I went too far. I apologise to Ghana,” he told Asaase Radio, explaining that the excitement and strong support for the NPP’s campaign in Akwatia led him to make the bold declaration.
The reversal has drawn criticism from political commentators including Dr Ishmael Norman, who argued, “I want to see Honourable Baafi resign because he made this announcement… otherwise, the party should kick him out.”
But Okyere Baafi insists an apology is the best course, stressing instead the need to reflect on Ghana’s electoral system: “What is important is that our system for conducting elections has now become dangerous; if you don’t have money, you can’t win an election.”
