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Winner of the Assin North by-election will be difficult to determine – Ben Ephson

Renowned Ghanaian pollster Ben Ephson has said the outcome of the Assin North by-election will be difficult to predict.
Ben Ephson
Ben Ephson

According to him, the results can go either the way of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Speaking on Starr Today with Joshua Kodjo Mensah Tuesday, Mr. Ephson stated that Assin North is a swing seat and no political party will easily win the by-election.

“Assin North is kind of a swing place so it is not going to be a safe place for anybody. That is going to be interesting.

“It is up to the two political parties to get people out to vote and definitely a by-election will not have the same energy as the general election. But this will be a higher turnout than Kumawu,” Mr. Ben Ephson stated.

However, the NDC is expected to present James Gyakye Quayson for the by-election when the Electoral Commission opens nominations for the contest.

According to the party, Mr. Quayson, whose mandate was revoked by the Supreme Court will be the same candidate on the party’s ticket.

Speaking on Accra based Citi FM, Mustapha Gbande, the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC said rumours that Mr. Quayson will be replaced should be disregarded.

“The party has a plan, but what we are sharing with the public is that the NDC is ready for the by-election. We know that the government is coming to challenge us, and we are already on the ground, and so our preparations are underway. The NDC is prepared for the Assin North by-election. We have said that the government has denied the people of Assin North representation in Parliament by using the judiciary. As we speak, the Supreme Court has not been able to deliver a written judgment to the parties involved, which is in itself a travesty of the process.

“What this means to us is that we need to consolidate our gains on the ground and reinforce what we already know. We have stated that we are re-presenting the candidate that we know, James Gyakye Quayson, who is credible and loved by his constituents. That decision has not changed. It is propaganda coming from the NPP to attack the integrity of our candidate that we are ditching him. The party has not said so. He is eligible to contest an election, and he is innocent until a court finds him guilty. Why is the NPP worried more than us?” asked the Deputy National Secretary of the NDC.

He said the party will monitor the NPP for possible vote-buying and will charge the police to act when they report incidents of vote-buying.

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