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New Juaben South MP, Michael Okyere Baafi, has apologised for his widely publicised declaration that he would resign if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the Akwatia by-election.
In an interview following the election, Baafi admitted that his remark was “a step too far,” explaining that it was meant to energise his campaign team rather than serve as a binding commitment.
“I apologise to Ghanaians for that. Looking at the work we had done, there was no way we could have lost the election,” he said.
The by-election, held on Tuesday, September 2, was won by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), whose candidate Bernard Bediako Baidoo secured 18,199 votes. He defeated the NPP’s Solomon Asumadu, who polled 15,235 votes, while the Liberal Party of Ghana’s (LPG) Owusu Patrick managed 82 votes.
Out of 34,122 ballots cast, 33,819 were deemed valid and 303 were rejected. Voting took place across 119 polling stations and was supervised by Electoral Commission officials, party agents, security personnel, and independent observers.
Baafi, however, alleged that the outcome was influenced by widespread vote buying by the NDC. He claimed that cash and items such as hair dryers and spraying machines were distributed to voters.
“Payments of between 500 and 1,000 cedis were made to individuals on polling day,” he alleged.
He warned that the increasing monetisation of elections posed a major threat to Ghana’s democracy.
“If this is how our election is going to be, then I will not contest as MP in the next election,” he cautioned.