Private legal practitioner and Akwatia Constituency Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Bediako Baidoo, has been elected as the party’s parliamentary candidate for the upcoming September 2 by-election.
Baidoo emerged victorious in a tight race, securing 380 votes to narrowly defeat his closest contender, Erasmus Koney Ali, popularly known as Asanka, who garnered 366 votes. Former MP for Akwatia, Henry Boakye Yiadom, alias Okoyo, trailed with 226 votes.
The primary, held on Monday, August 4, followed the death of the sitting MP, Ernest Yaw Kumi, and was officially declared by the Eastern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, John Appiah Baffoe.
Despite a generally peaceful process, tensions flared among some of Asanka’s supporters, who have expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and threatened to support the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate in protest.
Baidoo is now set to battle NPP’s Nana Kwame Solomon Asumadu in what is expected to be a keenly contested by-election.
Meanwhile, the NDC’s Eastern Regional leadership says efforts are underway to resolve internal differences and rally unified support for Baidoo ahead of the polls.
