Two individuals, Frederick Amoah Kyei and Charles Opoku, have stepped forward to contest in the New Patriotic Party’s primary for the selection of a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming Assin North by-election.
Speaking to JoyNews’ Samuel Mbura, Evans Nimako, the party’s Director of Elections, stated that the party has made arrangements to expedite the process given that the election is less than a month away. As per the accelerated timetable, the vetting will take place on Friday, June 2, while the primary to determine the candidate will be held on Wednesday, June 7.
“The National Vice Chairperson, Mr. Danquah Smith, will join the committee in conducting the vetting,” Nimako disclosed. “We must select a candidate, and this decision will be made by the party in the Assin North constituency. This means the polling station executives, electoral coordinators, constituency executives, council of elders and patrons within the constituency. The party will not impose a candidate on them,” he emphasized.
Mr. Nimako expressed optimism that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will emerge victorious in the by-election.
The necessity for a by-election in Assin North arose after parliament communicated to the Electoral Commission that the seat was vacant. The directive was in line with a Supreme Court ruling, which held that the Electoral Commission acted unconstitutionally by permitting Mr. James Gyakye Quayson to participate in the 2020 parliamentary election without evidence of his renunciation of Canadian citizenship. The Supreme Court ordered Parliament to remove Quayson’s name from its records as a Member of Parliament, ruling his election and subsequent swearing-in as unconstitutional, null, void, and without effect.
Despite the ruling, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is supporting Quayson to stand once again as their candidate in the by-election. The former MP remains resolute in his commitment to the people of Assin North.
“I am determined to continue serving the good people of Assin North with all my heart, soul, body and all the resources I can muster for the benefit of my constituents,” Quayson pledged. He called upon the constituents to turn out in large numbers to vote for him, so he can return to Parliament and continue the work he initiated for the development of Assin North.
