Kumawu by-election: NPP and NDC should be commended for making it incident-free – Mustapha Gbande

Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary

Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has commended both the NPP and his party for conducting themselves well by ensuring an incident-free Kumawu by-election.

Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews' PM Express on Tuesday, May 23, Mr. Gbande also acknowledged the efforts of the Ghana Police Service, led by Inspector General George Akuffo Dampare and his men for a peaceful election.

“The two political parties must commend themselves for leading an incident-free election. We would like to commend the IGP and his men for their conduct," he said.

However, the NDC executive criticized the governing NPP once again for allegedly influencing voters with money.

He stated that his party, the NDC put up a strong fight despite the area being an NPP's stronghold.

“The NPP government in this election engaged in vote buying, and it is so sad. NPP leadership and appointees gave out money for people to vote.

“We in the NDC are very excited that we put up a strong fight, particularly that the Kumawu constituency is a stronghold of the NPP.

"They went to a by-election with no message and nothing to show," he stated.

Meanwhile, the NPP's candidate, Ernest Yaw Anim, won the Kumawu by-election with 15,264 votes.

He defeating the NDC's Kwesi Amankwah, who garnered 3,723 votes, and two independent candidates, Kwaku Duah (1) with 2,478 votes and Kwaku Duah (2) with 62 votes.

The victory of the NPP has been attributed to the party's strong support base in the constituency and the popularity of its candidate.

The Kumawu by-election was held to fill the gap left by the death of the former NPP MP, Philip Basoa.