Kumawu by-election: Our performance improved despite deliberate vote-buying by NPP – Mahama

Kwasi Amankwaa, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for office, has received congratulations from former president John Mahama for participating in the party's primary for the Kumawu by-election.

According to Mr. Mahama, the amount of votes the NDC candidate received during the poll increased from the results of their 2020 election.

He claimed that the NDC was able to win a sizable majority of votes despite the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) use of vote buying.

"That excitement was clearly shown in the more votes our candidate received in the poll - 1,284 real votes, up 52.6% over our 2020 performance.

"That is noteworthy, particularly in light of the systematic vote-buying activities carried out by the NPP, even at the polling stations, and the deceit of the people with asphalt roads, and the fact that the constituency has historically been an NPP stronghold,” he said in a statement on Facebook on Thursday, May 25.










On Tuesday, May 23, NPP’s Ernest Yaw Anim polled 15,264 votes representing 70.91% to win the Kumawu Constituency by-election and thus retained the seat for the party.




The by-election was expected to be closely fought following the high stakes invested in the seat by both the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC, whose candidate Kwasi Amankwaa, came a distant second with 3,727 votes or 17.29 percent.




The two other contestants in the by-election, both named Kwaku Duah, equally did not provide much of a contest, sharing between them a paltry 2,540 votes or 11.8%.




NPP retains Kumawu seat




In light of this, the NDC flagbearer-elect asserted that the election results were a great sign from the people of Kumawu.







According to him, regardless of Kumawu being the stronghold of the NPP, they recorded a significant reduction in the number of votes obtained.




He further explained that the NDC may have not succeeded in winning the seat, but they had the opportunity to go through the electoral operations and procedures.




“Judging from the results, the ruling NPP has clearly recorded a significant reduction in the over all votes in their stronghold, and for me, that is a great sign from the good people of Kumawu.




“We may not have succeeded in flipping the seat, but I am proud that, as a collective, spearheaded by our National Chairman and General Secretary, we have had the opportunity to test our reviewed electoral operational procedures, including monitoring, party agent selection and training, collation, and transmission of results,” Mr Mahama said.







The former President, however, congratulated the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo-Dampare and his personnel for ensuring the peaceful conduct of the polls.




“The conduct of the police personnel gives us confidence for the future that they will continue to bear true allegiance to the state and not to any political party,” he said.




He noted that a credible election depends on the people the Electoral Commission recruits as presiding officers to collaborate with the agents and representatives of the political parties.




“Many of the infractions observed should not have occurred. Our monitoring teams that ensured the early detection of these infractions will be looking forward to engaging further to ensure that these issues are definitely dealt with and corrective measures taken ahead of any other election,” he stressed.







The former President also congratulated Ernest Yaw Ayim, the NPP MP-elect for the Kumawu Constituency.




He thanked the people of Kumawu for the peaceful conduct of the by-election and commended the NDC’s team from various branches, constituencies and the many selfless members of the party who were in Kumawu to assist to ensure a smooth process.