Political Scientist and Head of the Centre for European Studies at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has described the outcome of the Akwatia by-election as unexpected, stressing that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should have been in a stronger position to win.
“If you look at the constituency which is a toss up, like what we experienced yesterday, one would have thought all factors being equal, NPP would’ve carried the day.
“But events took a different turn and we saw the results,” Dr Asah-Asante said in an interview on the AM Show on JoyNews.
The by-election saw legal practitioner Bernard Bediako Baidoo of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) emerge victorious in a hotly contested race. Mr Baidoo polled 18,199 votes, representing about 54 percent, to reclaim the swing seat for the NDC.
His closest rival, Solomon Kwame Asumadu of the NPP, secured 15,235 votes, while Owusu Patrick of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) managed only 82 votes.
Mr Baidoo’s victory marks a significant breakthrough for the NDC, as the party regains control of the Akwatia seat, a constituency where the NPP previously held a slim advantage with a 5-4 lead in parliamentary representation since 1992.
The result, Dr Asah-Asante noted, highlights the changing political dynamics in key constituencies and sends a message to the NPP to address the issues that contributed to their loss.
