The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate James Gyakye Quayson has been declared winner of the Assin North by-election.
This means the NDC candidate will be making a return to parliament after securing a landslide victory in Tuesday's election.
Mr. Quayson polled 17,245 votes representing 57.56 percent of the total votes cast to beat Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG).
Charles Opoku polled 12,630 votes representing 42.15 percent of the total votes cast in the hotly contested by-election while the LPG’s Bernice Enyonam Sefenu polled a paltry 87 votes (0.29%).
The Assin North seat became vacant after the Supreme Court ordered to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson from its records as a Member of Parliament for Assin North Constituency in the Central Region.
A seven-member panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse in a unanimous decision on May 17, 2023, ruled that the Electoral Commission acted unconstitutionally in allowing him (Quayson) to contest the 2020 Parliamentary Election without proof of him renouncing his Canadian Citizenship.
Meanwhile, former President John Mahama has assured Gyake Quayson of a ministerial position should the NDC win power in 2024.
According to Mahama, Gyake Quayson has done enough in terms of development for the people of Assin North despite his government not being in power.
“He [Gyake Quayson] is humble, God-fearing, and respects everyone. If God helps me to be president, nothing will stop me from appointing him as a minister. Even as an opposition MP, look at what he has been able to do in terms of development from his own pockets. Just imagine what he would do if he becomes a minister,” Mahama added.