Legal practitioner Bernard Bediako Baidoo of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has won the closely contested Akwatia by-election. He reclaimed the key swing seat from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Baidoo, a private legal practitioner, secured 18,199 votes, representing about 54 percent of the total ballots cast. His main rival, Solomon Kwame Asumadu of the NPP, polled 15,235 votes, while Owusu Patrick of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) managed 82 votes.
Also Read: Akwatia by-election: Voters decide today who claims Parliamentary seat
The victory strengthens the NDC’s position in Akwatia, a constituency where the NPP had enjoyed a slim 5–4 edge in parliamentary representation since 1992.
Baidoo’s triumph followed a fiercely contested campaign and an equally competitive NDC primary in August, where he defeated Erasmus Koney Ali and former MP Henry Yiadom Boakye to secure the party’s ticket.
In the 2024 general election, the late Ernest Yaw Kumi of the NPP won the seat by a margin of 2,063 votes, polling 19,269 against Boakye’s 17,206.
The by-election was not without incident. Early in the day, police arrested a man accused of tearing down a candidate’s posters at a polling station, preventing what could have escalated into voter disruption.
Later, at the Akwatia lorry station in the Vawaso Electoral Area, tensions flared when a confrontation broke out between Alhaji Osman Masawudu, NPP’s Third National Vice Chairman, and an escort of NDC Vice Chairman Chief Sofo Azorka. The scuffle, witnessed by police officers, was quickly contained to restore calm.