Akane Adabengba Adams, a former national treasurer of the People’s National Convention (PNC), has urged minority parties, particularly those without representation in Parliament, to support the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the June 27 Assin North by-election in order to preserve the current nearly hung Parliament and maintain control over the public purse.

He claimed that given the current state of the economy, an absolute majority in Parliament, particularly from the current administration, was risky for Ghana’s economy and could worsen the suffering of the populace.

For the sake of parliamentary democracy, Akane, as he prefers to be known, said that it was time for the smaller political parties to compromise on their principles and support the NDC in the by-election.

The former treasurer who is in the Central Region as a PNC member to support the NDC candidate, James Gyakye Quayson, claimed that an absolute majority in Parliament would result in the passage of laws that might not be beneficial to Ghana’s citizens because “the majority will always use their numbers to push them through.”

The NDC and the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) held 137 seats each in the House before to the declaration of James Gyakye Quayson’s seat as vacant, plus one Independent candidate who leans towards the NPP to create a narrow majority.

In a unanimous ruling last month, the Supreme Court directed Ghana’s Parliament to remove James Gyakye Quayson’s name as a Member of Parliament for the Assin North Constituency from its records.

NPP Candidate Confident Of Winning Parliamentary Primary

Charles Opoku, a potential New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate in the Assin North district, expressed his extreme confidence in his ability to prevail in the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries.

Charles Opoku claimed that this was because of how hard he had been working to carry out community development programs. He stated that the party is ready to hold its internal elections for the Assin North Constituency on June 7, 2023.

When asked about the percentage of votes he was expecting, he said, “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I trust and hope that the delegates will give me even more votes than I am expecting.”

“I have marketed myself well through the number of development projects I have undertaken in the constituency and the excellent working relationships I have with my party members and traditional leaders.”
Charles Opoku

He reminded the delegates that since it was an internal voting process and the party will ultimately prevail, there should be no insults.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has chosen two people to put their names on the ballot for the Assin North Constituency parliamentary primary. They are Frederick Freeman Amoah-Kyei and Charles Opoku.

A Supreme Court decision on James Gyakye Quayson’s eligibility to hold the seat in Assin North led to Parliament declaring the seat vacant, which prompted the party to hold an internal election. The by-election has since been set for Tuesday, June 27, 2023 by the Electoral Commission.