Despite a national party directive to boycott, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North, has firmly declared that she will contest the rerun scheduled for Friday, July 11, 2025.
Her defiant stance comes in the wake of the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to conduct a rerun in 19 polling stations following months of unresolved electoral tensions from the December 7th, 2024, elections.
“We are fully prepared. Tomorrow we are going for this contest. I want everyone in Ablekuma North to hear me and hear my voice – I am contesting this election, and I am coming out victorious because I won that election, and God will ensure that justice prevails”
Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Ablekuma North
In a charged address to her supporters ahead of the vote, Akua Afriyie reaffirmed her faith in victory and urged constituents to turn out in numbers to defend what she described as a stolen mandate.
Akua Afriyie’s decision to remain in the race puts her at odds with her party’s national leadership. The NPP, through its General Secretary, announced a formal boycott of the rerun following weeks of legal disputes and internal consultations with the EC.
But the candidate insisted her presence on the ballot is non-negotiable. She recounted the December 7 election, asserting that she secured 34,613 votes against her opponent’s 34,199 based on collated results from 278 out of 281 polling stations.
“We collated this thing together. My polling agents and their polling agents went through all of it and from those 278 polling stations, I was leading with 349. We were left with 3 polling stations”
Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Ablekuma North
According to her, the EC initially confirmed this in Parliament but later altered the narrative, claiming transparency over the results of 19 polling stations under pink sheet verification disputes.
Looking Forward
Anchored on the assertion that she is the legitimate winner of the 2024 election, her message to voters was deeply spiritual and full of conviction about the outcome of tomorrow’s Ablekuma North rerun.
“Darkness can never cover light. I am the light. I am the truth and the light. I walk with a gracious God. You can never cheat me and go scot free. The Lord is going to talk tomorrow”
Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Ablekuma North
Though publicly unsupported by the party, Akua Afriyie has received considerable backing from within its ranks. Dr. Bryan Acheampong, touted by some as the NPP’s flagbearer for the 2028 election, reportedly donated GHS 200,000 to her campaign.
Additionally, he is said to have distributed $6,500 to coordinators and polling station chairpersons to reinforce local support ahead of the rerun.
Despite the party’s official position to stay away from the EC’s decision, grassroots mobilisation appears active on both sides. Supporters of Ms. Ewurabena Aubynn, the NDC’s parliamentary candidate, are also campaigning vigorously across the affected polling stations.
Recently, the Accra High Court dismissed an injunction application filed by Akua Afriyie seeking to halt the rerun by the EC.
The court ruled that any grievances she had with the EC’s decision could be addressed through the substantive case and that the rerun should proceed to avoid prolonged disenfranchisement of the constituency.
As campaigns intensify and the rerun draws nearer, Akua Afriyie’s bold departure from party instructions signals deepening tensions within the NPP over her conviction. Whether her defiance pays off at the polls or triggers further intra-party fissures remains to be seen.
“Justice will for sure prevail tomorrow,” she said, reiterating her confidence and calling on constituents to back her position tomorrow.
READ MORE: Annie Macaulay Shares Early Career Truths
