The National Democratic Congress, [NDC] has announced preparations to contest and retain the Assin North Constituency by-election.

On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, Parliament declared the Assin North parliamentary seat vacant following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the eligibility of James Gyakye Quayson to occupy the Assin North seat.

The Supreme Court by a unanimous decision ordered Ghana’s Parliament to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson from its records as the Member of Parliament for the Assin North constituency on May 17.

Reacting to the vacant seat declaration by Parliament, the Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande said the party has decided to maintain Mr James Gyakye Quayson as the candidate to lead the party.

Mr Gbande told the media, that preparations were already in place for campaigning and other activities in the constituency right after the Supreme Court order that led to the expunging of Mr James Gyakye Quayson’s name from parliament’s records.

According to him, the party will not hold an internal election to elect a new candidate for the parliamentary race.

“We in the NDC are prepared for this election. We began our preparation even as we were in Kumawu. We will do our review meetings and we will take over Assin North. We knew that we would go into a by-election and so the party has already put processes in place,” he said.

“There was a vigil held recently, and subsequently there are other activities that will start tomorrow [May 31] to canvass and further reinforce our relationship with the constituency,” Mr Gbande added.

Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party, [NPP] today, Wednesday, May 31, has opened nominations for the upcoming Assin North by-election in the Central Region.

The NPP’s internal primary follows a declaration by Parliament that the Assin North Parliamentary seat is vacant after the Supreme Court ruled on the eligibility of James Gyakye Quayson in occupying the Assin North seat.

The Supreme Court, by a unanimous decision, ordered Ghana’s Parliament to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson from its records as the Member of Parliament for the Assin North constituency on May 17.

The NPP, in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, on May 30, noted that the nomination forms will be available at the Constituency Party Office for purchase and will close on Thursday, June 1. The internal election is slated for Wednesday, June 7, 2023.

“The New Patriotic Party, at its Steering Committee (SC) meeting held on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, approved the following timelines for holding the parliamentary primary election at Assin North for the by-election:

* Opening of Nominations: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
* Closing of Nominations: Thursday, June 1, 2023
* Election: Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Sompaonline.com