James Gyakye Quayson, the embattled Member of Parliament for Assin North, was warmly welcomed by National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials and supporters when he arrived at the polling grounds in Assin Bereku.
When Gyakye Quayson came to Assin North to cast his ballot, National Democratic Congress supporters surrounded him. The legislator who arrived was dressed in white, and some important NDC figures, such as as National Communications Officer Sammy Gyamfi, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, and others, were with him.
Aside from NDC and Ghana Police Service security personnel, Mr. Quayson was also surrounded by a lot of the people.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate Charles Opoku is running against James Gyakye Quayson of the NDC, whose place in parliament has been in question since nationality allegations were made after he was elected as MP back in 2020.
In the meantime, a recent survey by Global InfoAnalytics shows that Charles Opoku is only marginally ahead of James Gyakye Quayson in today’s by-election.
According to the poll taken prior to the by-election, 45.6 percent of respondents said they planned to support James Gyakye Quayson, while 46.7 percent said they would support Charles Opoku. It also revealed that 6.9% of respondents are still unsure about which candidate to support.
According to Global InfoAnalytics, this could be crucial in determining the election’s final result.
Ghana Police Service Led By A Professional IGP
According to the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery, the directive that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, issued to the bodyguards of Members of Parliament (MPs) on carrying guns in Assin North is part of the Police’s activities.
He claimed that Ghana has a skilled police force under the direction of a skilled IGP.
“I believe that we have a professional Police service led by a very professional IGP, he goes by the rules. These are Police operations purely and we don’t interfere with that. We do know that the situation must be such that nobody feels intimidated and those rules apply to all of us,” he stated.
All MP and other state officials who will be in Assin North in the Central Region for the by-elections on Tuesday were ordered by Dr. George Akuffo Dampare to turn in their guns.
The order was issued following a crucial meeting on Monday between the leadership of the Ghana Police Service and representatives of the political parties and the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC).
However, Mr. Dafeamekpor asserted that MPs’ attachment of bodyguards is part of their contract of employment and that the IGP lacks the authority to alter the terms of service of a sitting MP in the same manner that he is unable to alter the terms of employment of a superior court judge in this republic.
However, according to Interior Minister Ambrose Dery, Assin North’s by-election had been conducted in a peaceful manner. He hoped it would stay that way throughout the exercise. “It has been orderly, we hope that things will remain this orderly and let the people express their preferences,” he averred.
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