Bawumia and Kennedy Agyapong Show Off in Ablekuma North Ahead of Partial Rerun

Bawumia and Kennedy Agyapong Show Off in Ablekuma North Ahead of Partial Rerun

  • The main contenders in the New Patriotic Party flagbearer race have featured prominently in the Ablekuma North parliamentary race
  • Former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and former legislator Kennedy Agyapong met with the NPP candidate and rallied supporters
  • The Electoral Commission is conducting a rerun of the Ablekuma North Constituency Parliamentary Election in 19 polling stations

New Patriotic Party flagbearer aspirants are stealing headlines ahead of the partial election rerun in the Ablekuma North constituency.

The main contenders, former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and former legislator Kennedy Agyapong, were both in the constituency campaigning for the NPP candidate Nana Akua Afriyie. The two have rallied support for the NPP candidate ahead of the controversial rerun.

Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, Nana Akua Afriyie, NPP, Ablekuma South
Former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and former legislator Kennedy Agyapong campaign for the NPP Ablekuma West candidate Nana Akua Afriyie
Source: Facebook

Aside from the campaign, Bawumia donated GH₵410,000 to Afriyie to support her campaign ahead of the rerun polls in 19 polling stations on July 11, 2024.

Another NPP flagbearer aspirant, Bryan Acheampong, donated GH₵200,000 to Akua Afriyie and $6,500 to coordinators and polling station chairpersons in Ablekuma North.

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The support from these aspirants courted controversy because the NPP leadership had signalled an intent to boycott the rerun over fairness concerns.

Agyapong disagreed with the stance in a statement ahead of his visit to the constituency and urged the NPP leadership to reconsider.

"We must not retreat in the face of political pressure or calculation. We must remember what is at stake: the balance of parliamentary power, the morale of our grassroots, and the credibility of our party’s commitment to the democratic process."
"If we abandon this contest today, what precedent do we set for tomorrow? What shall we say when other critical seats are contested? How shall we answer future generations who ask whether we stood firm when the republic called?"

Afriyie herself confirmed her participation despite her party's boycott. She is going up against Ewurabena Aubyn of the National Democratic Congress.

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Nana Akua Afriyie defies NPP’s boycott, confirms participation in Ablekuma North rerun

Why the Ablekuma North election is being disputed

The NDC was unhappy with the use of scanned pink sheets with election results from the 37 polling stations.

It claimed the pink sheets were brought under suspicious circumstances by the NPP and were also not verified ahead of collation after the December 24 election.

Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, Nana Akua Afriyie, NPP, Ablekuma South
The collation of election results in Ablekuma North is under dispute
Source: Getty Images

The NPP, however, argued that the scanned pink sheets were verified and endorsed by party agents before the chaos at the collation centre derailed the process. The NPP believes only three polling stations were in dispute.

The Electoral Commission held that the original pink sheets were destroyed when party members caused mayhem at the collation centre.

Legal action against Ablekuma North rerun

YEN.com.gh reported that Afriyie sued at the High Court seeking to quash the Electoral Commission’s decision to re-run elections in 19 out of 281 polling stations.

In her suit, she argued that there is a pending High Court order directing the commission to collate and declare the results of the elections in the constituency.

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She believes this is an administrative error by failing to comply with the court’s order, in the absence of any directive to the contrary.

Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Delali Adogla-Bessa avatar

Delali Adogla-Bessa (Head of Current Affairs and Politics Desk) Delali Adogla-Bessa is a Current Affairs Editor with YEN.com.gh. Delali previously worked as a freelance journalist in Ghana and has over seven years of experience in media, primarily with Citi FM, Equal Times, Ubuntu Times. Delali also volunteers with the Ghana Institute of Language Literacy and Bible Translation, where he documents efforts to preserve local languages. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2014 with a BA in Information Studies. Email: delali.adogla-bessa@yen.com.gh.

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