The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has justified its participation in the just-ended Akwatia by-election, insisting it was a strategic move to expose what it describes as electoral manipulation by the Electoral Commission (EC) during the 2024 polls.
NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia explained that the party resisted calls to step aside after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) pulled out of the Tamale by-election, which triggered public debate on whether the NDC should replicate the move in Akwatia.
“We contested Akwatia deliberately to show Ghanaians how the EC and the NPP colluded in 2024 to declare Ernest Yaw Kumi as winner when in fact the NDC had won the seat,” Mr. Nketia said during his Thank You Tour in the Eastern Region.
The NDC leader argued that the by-election offered the party an opportunity to “unmask” the EC by proving its true electoral strength in the constituency. He said the outcome of the vote confirmed that the NDC had been unfairly robbed in the 2024 general election.
In the by-election, the NDC’s Bernard Bediako Baidoo secured a decisive victory with 18,199 votes, defeating the NPP’s Asumadu, who managed 15,235 votes.
The Liberal Progressive Party’s Owusu Patrick came a distant third with 82 votes.
Mr. Nketia maintained that the victory was more than just a seat win; it was a “vindication” of the NDC’s long-standing claim that the EC manipulated results in favour of the ruling party during the 2024 parliamentary contests.
He stressed that the NDC remains committed to defending Ghana’s democracy, insisting that the party will not allow what he described as “systematic rigging” to go unchallenged.
