President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cautioned Assin North residents not to support a candidate who might later be imprisoned.

Akufo-Addo emphasized the need of making educated judgments when he addressed a sizable crowd of Assin North citizens.

In an effort to increase support for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate in the Assin North by-election slated for Tuesday, June 27, he made the comment.

He highlighted his worry about candidates whose past or current legal troubles cast doubt on their reliability and devotion to the law.

The President clearly asserted that it is essential for the electorate to appropriately exercise their voting rights and that they should not support or vote for people who are embroiled in legal disputes that could ultimately result in their being imprisoned.

“We need someone who can come and help you. Someone who will work in your interest. I heard Gyakye Quayson say that even in prison, you people will vote for him, can he work from jail? We vote for people to go to Parliament to work. How can he work from prison? So don’t vote for someone who will end up in jail, vote for someone who can work to improve your lives.”
Akufo-Addo

Due to the legal difficulties that James Gyakye-Quayson, the constituent’s former representative, has to deal with, there has been political unrest in the area.

Additionally, President Akufo-Addo denied allegations that he tried to influence the court to rule against Mr. Quayson. He claimed that Mr. Quayson has been caught up in Ghana’s laws. He further said that candidates for political office ought to be honest.

In the impending by-election, he asked them to carefully consider the candidates’ biographies, credentials, and reputations before casting their ballots.

Akufo-Addo claimed that electing Charles Opoku would mean choosing a legislator who is unencumbered by other problems but who can concentrate on his or her legislative responsibilities. He was alluding to James Gyakye Quayson, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate, who is running to fill the seat from which he was recently expelled by the Supreme Court and is currently being tried on criminal charges in an Accra High Court.

Gyakye Quayson’s Case Likened To Late Dramani Sakande

The president compared Quayson’s dual citizenship issue to that of a former NPP representative for Bawku Central who was imprisoned for running for office while simultaneously having Ghanaian and British passports.

“That Ghanaians easily forget and that is why he (John Mahama) said that. What happened to Adamu Dramani Sakande during his presidency, he seems to have forgotten. It is the exact same thing that has befallen Quayson. Was it politics that led to Sakande’s jailing during his (John Mahama’s) presidency? Why is he relating it to that now, let us be truthful, we should be truthful, people should stop lying to people in the villages.”
Akufo-Addo

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of political activity surrounding the by-election. Prior to the vote, on June 25, campaigns came to an end.

The New Patriotic Party’s final rally in the constituency was headed by President Akufo-Addo, who was there to support Charles Opoku, a candidate who is currently narrowly ahead in the polls.