President Nana Akufo-Addo introduces the NPP candidate, Charles Opoku, to party supporters on Sunday
Pollster Ben Ephson is predicting the New Patriotic Party’s Charles Opoku will win Tuesday’s by-election in the Assin North Constituency by a 3 to 4 % margin.
The Supreme Court on 17 May declared that the election and swearing-in of the MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, sitting on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), was unconstitutional, null and void.
About 41,168 constituents are expected to vote at 99 polling stations in Assin North in what has been described as a critical by-election that would determine who controls the country’s legislature.
Main contenders
Today’s election is a straight race between the governing NPP’s Charles Opoku and the opposition NDC’s James Gyakye Quayson, who was ousted as the MP for the area by the Supreme Court, which found errors in his candidature in the 2020 election due to his status as dual citizen at the time.
Speaking to Benjamin Offei-Addo on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (27 June), Ephson said. “I think that Charles Opoku will win by 3-4 percent margin of victory.”
“We saw a big drop in the sympathy vote of James Gyakye Quayson when it emerged from the NDC camp that Quayson had been disqualified in 2012 and 2016 because of non-renunciation and that statement has not been denied by anybody in the NDC,” Ephson said.
Listen to Ben Ephson in the attached audio clip below:
Security
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare says adequate measures have been put in place to ensure a violence-free election.
The IGP gave the assurance after meeting with key stakeholders in the election including the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and the Electoral Commission.
Civic duty
A statement issued by the police on Monday (26 June), urged the people of Assin North constituency to go about their normal activities freely and also exercise their civic duty of casting their vote.
“As we go into the Assin North Bye-Election tomorrow, 27th June, 2023 the Police Service wishes to assure the people of Assin North in particular and Ghanaians in general that adequate security measures have been put in place within the Constituency in order to ensure security, law and order before, during and after the election.”
“In addition, at the instance of the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Management Board (POMAB) held a meeting this morning with key stakeholders in the election including the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and the Electoral Commission to enhance the working relationship among all stakeholders towards a peaceful election,” the police statement said.
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
