The largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) win in the just-ended Assin North by-election appears to have given the party the needed boost in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
This is according to Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante, the Director of Programmes and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development-Ghana (CDD-Ghana) who adds that the NDC’s win signifies a sense of competitiveness that they can carry forward into the 2024 general elections.
Speaking to Accra-based Joy News, Dr Asante acknowledged that the win is a needed boost to the NDC’s campaign.
“For me, this [Assin North] election does give the NDC some more confidence about its own sense of competitiveness going into the 2024 election,” he said.
Dr Asante also urged the NPP to learn from their mistakes in the by-election. Specifically, he mentioned that the party should reconsider how it utilizes incumbency advantage and cautioned against creating impunity among voters, as allegedly witnessed in Assin North.
Regarding the issue of vote-buying during elections, Dr Asante suggested conducting undercover investigations to expose the perpetrators. He noted the difficulty in having individuals willingly report such cases and emphasized the need for action, including involving the Special Prosecutor to address politically exposed persons involved in such acts.
“I’ve tried to press on the Special Prosecutor who is charged with dealing with politically exposed persons to get into the space because I really think it’s not just about vote-buying. I think it’s vote selling and vote-buying.”
“So, I think this example has to be set in terms of even the citizens who are also receiving the money. But I think the tactics should also include undercover because you’re not going to really get people coming forward to say we’re receiving cash,” he added.
The recent Assin North by-election also exposed instances of voter inducement, with some voters displaying money they claimed to have received from political parties or their representatives. However, politicians have given varying reasons for the distribution of money, other than an intention to induce voters.
The NDC’s James Gyakye Quayson won the Tuesday, June 27, 2023, by-election with 17,245 votes representing 57.56 per cent of the valid votes cast with the New Patriotic Party candidate, Charles Opoku coming second with 12,630 votes representing 42.15 per cent.
The Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) candidate Sefenu Bernice Enyonam got 87 votes representing 0.29 per cent.
