The heat is building up, party candidates are lacing up their boots and enthusiasts are leaving no stone unturned as they join in vigorous campaigning ahead of the by-elections slated for Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in Assin North.

The election will ensure the selection of a new Member of Parliament for the constituency following the declaration of the seat vacant by the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

Ahead of the polls, two of Ghana’s biggest political parties have outdoored their candidates to contest in the race. While embattled former MP of the area, James Gyakye Quayson has been renominated to contest for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Charles Opoku is going on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

To show enthusiasm and to campaign for their preferred candidates, some enthusiasts from both parties took to the streets of the township, clad in the respective party t-shirts to push their candidates.

In a rather interesting video captured by Metro TV, some NPP enthusiasts took over the streets with music and dance, for their final campaign for Charles Owusu.

NDC enthusiasts followed closely after, with their own set of songs and campaign messages as they also paraded the streets.

Watch the video below:



Background:

The Supreme Court of Ghana, on May 17, 2023, ordered the Parliament of Ghana to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament (MP)

Justice Jones Victor Dotse, Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Yonny Kulendi and Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu declared that Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the election 2020 in the Michael Ankomah Nimfah vrs James Gyakye Quayson case.

According to the court, the ousted Assin North MP failed to prove that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship when he filed his nomination to contest the 2020 general elections.

Parliament subsequently declared the Assin North seat vacant, leading to the Electoral Commission of Ghana announcing a by-election on May 27, 2023, to fill the seat.

But there is still one case the former MP has to face in court after the Office of the Attorney General accused him of deceiving public officers to acquire state documents.

On February 12, 2022, the State charged James Gyakye Quayson with five counts; deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.

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WA