Hot SourceA legal practitioner, Bernard Bediako Baidoo of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), yesterday, won the Akwatia by-election, delivering a crucial victory for the government in one of the most keenly contested electoral battles of the year.
The Electoral Commission’s certified results showed Bediako securing 18,199 votes of the total valid votes cast. His closest rival, a known miner, Kwame Asumadu of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), garnered 15,235votes.
Owusu Patrick of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) trailed far behind with 82 votes. Out of the total ballots cast, 33,819 were valid, while 303were rejected.
The by-election was necessitated by the death of Akwatia’s Member of Parliament, Ernest Kumi, earlier this year. Campaigning in the lead-up to the poll was intense, with both the NDC and NPP heavily investing resources and manpower in the constituency.
Voting took place across 119 polling stations in Akwatia. Polls officially closed at 5 p.m., after which sorting and counting were conducted in the presence of party agents, security officers, and independent observers.
Bediako’s victory sparked jubilant celebrations among NDC supporters, who poured onto the streets of Akwatia in song and dance.
Political analysts note that the result carries significant weight, as Akwatia has historically been a swing constituency, alternating between the NPP and NDC in past elections. The NDC’s latest win is being seen as a significant boost to the governing party’s confidence ahead of the 2028 general elections.
With this outcome, Bernard Bediako becomes the new MP for Akwatia, promising to continue the work of his predecessor while advancing the development agenda of the government in the constituency.
As of 7:20pm, officials and agents from the NPP side were not at the collation centre as was expected of them, while those from the NDC side were present.
As part of election procedures and to promote transparency and acceptance of results, the EC typically permits party agents to be present at collation centres to verify results, either by confirming or challenging those received from polling stations.
A challenge raised by a party agent does not invalidate an election result or prevent the Returning Officer from proceeding with the collation.
Before the collation started in the Akwatia by-election, some NPP party leaders and agents were spotted at the collation centre, but as of 7:20 pm, when there was an indication that the NDC candidate could be winning the by-election, no NPP official or agent was at the collation centre when the EC officers started entering the figures.
The Eastern Regional Secretary of the NPP was later seen at the collation centre at the time of the declaration of the final results.
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