Prosper Kwame Nartey: Evaluating the Akwatia by-election: Insights and implications

In line with the precedent set in the first parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, every parliament so far has witnessed by-elections. As young as the 9^th Parliament is, just 7 months into its first session, it has been hit with the unfortunate death of the MP for Akwatia, Hon Ernest Yaw Kumi, on 7^th July 2025. The by-election has been scheduled for 2^nd September by the Electoral Commission.

By-elections are conducted when there is a vacancy in parliament. Articles 97 and 112 elaborate on bye-elections in Ghana.  Article 112 (5) states that “whenever a vacancy occurs in parliament, the Clerk to Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days after the vacancy occurred, and a by-election shall be held within thirty days after the vacancy occurred”. However, clause 6 of Article 112 states that, “notwithstanding clause 5 of this article, a bye election shall not be held within three months before the holding of a general election”.

This simply means that if a vacancy is created in Parliament just three months before a general election, no elections will be held to fill that vacancy. A case in point was the death of the Mfantseman MP, who was killed on 9^th October 2020. Hon Ekow Hayford Quansah, who represented the Mfantseman constituency on the ticket of the NPP’s vacancy, was not filled through a by-election.

Article 97 sets out the tenure of members of parliament and how vacancies occur in Parliament. A cursory look at the history of by-elections in Ghana, the vacancies are as a result of death, resignation, or disqualification.

When the Clerk to Parliament notifies the Electoral Commission of a vacancy pursuant to article 112(5), the Electoral Commission consequently sets out informing the general public about the vacancy created in the legislature and opens nomination processes within the said constituency. Prospective candidates are informed of the processes to undergo to be eligible to contest for the by-election. The Public Elections Regulations, 2020 CI 127, regulation 6 establishes the process of nomination for a prospective parliamentary candidate.

The electoral commission, in its bid to promote affirmative action, allows female candidates to pay a reduced amount compared to males. In the Akwatia by-election, while male nominees are paying GHS10, 000 the females and persons with disabilities are paying GHS7,500.

In the interim, political parties conduct primaries to select a candidate. At other times, a party can come to a consensus and nominate a candidate without any recourse to internal elections (primaries). Thus, while the NDC conducted primaries to choose Lawyer Bernard Bediako Baidoo as their candidate, the NPP has unanimously nominated businessman Solomon Kwame Asumadu AKA “Owuo” to represent them in the 2025 Akwatia by-election.

The Akwatia constituency is located in the Eastern region of Ghana in the Denkyembour district. It is predominantly a farming constituency. Over the years, as a result of concerns over conflict diamonds and decreased investment in the sector have significantly negatively impacted the economy of the towns in the late 2000s. Many residents have ventured into artisanal gold mining. It is also referred to as the diamond city because it served as the main center for diamond extractions. Akwatia is bounded by Asamankese to the east, Kade to the west, Atewa west to the north, and Akyem Oda to the South. It has 119 polling stations.

Notable towns due to political significance include Bodua, Takarasi, Apenaaman, Dwenase, Sakyikrom, Topraman, Okumenyim, Akyem Wenchi, etc. Most of these towns have zongo communities dominated by people of Northern descent.

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Akwatia used to be a hot spot for violence. The 2012 general elections witnessed some heightened tensions and violence. However, in recent times, it has witnessed some peaceful elections. The unfortunate events experienced in the Ablekuma North rerun demand the best election security protocols to curb and avert the incidence of electoral violence.

Akwatia cannot be described as a stronghold of either the NPP or the NDC, although the NPP has won the seat the most. It is considered a swing constituency. This makes the Akwatia by-election very competitive. The NDC has won the seat 4 times, and the NPP has won it 5 times. This is the breakdown below.

It is important to note that a hairdresser turned politician, Hon. Mercy Adu Gyamfi, popularly known as Ama Sey, has been the first and only female MP for the Akwatia constituency.

The 2024 contest between Henry Yiadom Boakye and Ernest Kumi was a close contest, with the latter winning 52.8 percent of valid votes cast and the former gaining 47.2%. Moreover, the 2024 elections were bedeviled by controversies over who the real winner was. Thus, even before the swearing in, the High Court in Koforidua had issued an interim injunction against the swearing in of the MP-elect, Ernest Kumi.

On February 19^th, 2025, the Koforidua High Court issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Ernest Kumi for defying an interim injunction barring him from being sworn in. However, he appealed to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court, on June 11^th, 2025, quashed the contempt ruling and bench warrant in a 4-1 decision, citing bias. Unfortunately, Ernest Kumi passed on the 7^th of July 2025. That is how contentious the seat was.

It is interesting to note that Bernard Baidoo was the lawyer for the 2024 NDC candidate, Hon Henry Yiadom Boakye. He lost to Ernest Kumi, who passed on. In a surprising turn of events, Lawyer Bernard Bediako Baidoo unseated Hon. Yiadom in the primaries for the by-elections.

The 2025 by-election is nuanced from the 2024 elections because both the dominant parties are presenting new contestants who didn’t participate in the 2024 elections. They are both party executives in the constituency. Solomon Kwame Asumadu is the treasurer of the NPP in the constituency, born and raised in Bodua, while Bernard Bediako Baidoo is the NDC constituency secretary. Akyem Wenchi is a flashpoint and also an NPP stronghold in the constituency. However, that is where the NDC aspirant, Lawyer Bernard Bediako Baidoo, hails from. Interestingly, Bodua, over the years, voted for the NDC, and it is also the roots of the NPP aspirant Solomon Kwame Asumadu. The death of the previous MP can throw in some sympathy votes on behalf of the NPP.

I wouldn’t want to conclude with who I think will win the Akwatia election, 2^nd September will decide.

Prosper Kwame Nartey, Columnist