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Veteran journalist and respected pollster, Ben Ephson has stated that whenever a by-election is held in the Assin North constituency, it will be a test of popularity between the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Ephson, who is publisher of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper told Accra-based Asaase Radio that either party that wins the seat will flaunt the victory as a sign of their popularity over the other.

He believes that flowing from the outcome of the 2020 parliamentary polls, the election when it is held will be a closely contested one.

“The NDC will view it as a test of their popularity and it’ll also be viewed as a test of the government’s popularity.

“So, the NPP lost the seat and I think that Gyakye won because of the father’s popularity. Now, if there’s a by-election and Gyakye decides to contest and NDC wins it, they’ll say it’s a continuation of their strength and maybe a reflection of the government.

“I think that if the NPP wins the by-election, they will have more political advantage that ‘if you say we’re not doing well, we’ve taken a seat, we’ve won’,” Ephson told Asaase News’s Caleb Ahinakwah.

“I think that one of the principles of the 2020 [general] elections has been that or it tells you that the Ghanaian voter has matured and the swing voters are a lot. So, the by-election itself will be interesting and will have a lot of political fall-outs,” he said.

The possibility of a by-election in the constituency was triggered by a Supreme Court injunction that barred NDC’s James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself out as a lawmaker until a case against the propriety of his candidature is determined.

Ephson is on record to have said last year that in the case of a by-election, the NPP will win the seat.

Background

In July 2021, a High Court in Cape Coast nullified the election of the Assin North MP, after it found that he owed allegiance to Canada at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.

Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of the constituency, filed the petition in court and later initiated another action at the Supreme Court to enforce the High Court's decision.

He urged the Court to prevent a further breach of the constitution by restraining the MP.

On Wednesday, April 13, the Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision ruled on the issue by barring the Assin North MP from performing any Parliamentary duty.

This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court.