James Gyakye Quayson, representing the National Democratic Congress (NDC), emerged victorious in the Assin North constituency by-election.

The Electoral Commission (EC) began collating results on Tuesday evening, and the Returning Officer, Kofi Tsibu, declared Quayson the winner at the Youth Centre in Assin Bereku at 9:50 pm.

Quayson secured 17,245 votes, accounting for 57.56 percent of the valid votes cast. Charles Opoku, the candidate from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), came in second with 12,630 votes, representing 42.15 percent.

Sefenu Bernice Enyonam of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) received 87 votes, equivalent to 0.29 percent.

Quayson expressed that his win reflected the conscience of thoughtful Ghanaians who were not influenced by money.

Despite the "injustices" he faced, he remained undeterred, knowing that he had the support of his constituents, the NDC, and even individuals from the NPP.

Quayson considered his victory a reaffirmation of confidence and pledged to collaborate with the NDC and his constituents to expedite the area's development.

Out of the 30,418 votes cast, there were 29,962 valid votes, representing a turnout of 74.23 percent.

In the 2020 parliamentary election in Assin North, Quayson won with 17,498 votes, representing 55.21 percent, while Abena Durowaa Mensah, the then-NPP candidate, received 14,193 votes, representing 44.79 percent.

Earlier indications on Tuesday at 6:30 pm suggested that Quayson would retain the Assin North parliamentary seat. NDC functionaries had released figures projecting Quayson's victory, leading to celebratory scenes among NDC supporters in the constituency.

However, the NPP Director of IT, Eric Ntori, conceded defeat and stated that the party would regroup and strategize for the 2024 elections to reclaim the seat.

Background:

In the Assin area of the Central Region, there used to be two constituencies: Assin South and Assin North. From 2001, Prof Dominic Fobih and Kennedy Ohene Agyapong occupied the south and north seats, respectively, for three consecutive terms under the NPP.

In 2012, the Electoral Commission created the Assin Central seat, and Kennedy Agyapong's area became Assin Central.

The NDC won the Assin North seat in 2012 with Samuel Ambre. The NPP took it from the NDC in 2016 with Abena Durowaa Mensah. In 2020, the NDC regained the seat with James Gyakye Quayson defeating the incumbent Abena Durowaa Mensah.

Quayson was initially a dual citizen with allegiance to Canada and Ghana.

He had initiated the process to renounce his Canadian citizenship before the 2020 parliamentary election but had not received his renunciation certificate when filing with the EC.

According to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 1992 Constitution, since Quayson had not received his renunciation certificate, he was still considered a Canadian citizen at the time of filing, making him ineligible to contest.

As Quayson received his Canadian citizenship renunciation certificate later in 2020, he became qualified to contest. The NDC nominated him to re-contest, while the NPP selected Charles Opoku as their candidate.

During a press conference on Tuesday night, Sammy Gyamfi, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communications Officer, stated that Quayson's win was more convincing than his approximately 3,500-vote margin in 2020.

Jubilations continued in the communities well into the night.