The political drama unfolding in the Akwatia constituency is heating up, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is at the center of it all. In a nail-biting primary election, the party has selected Bernard Bediako Baidoo as its new parliamentary candidate for the upcoming by-election on September 2, 2025. This victory, however, is not the unifying moment the party had hoped for. Instead, it has laid bare deep-seated divisions, with a significant faction of supporters reportedly vowing to vote against their own candidate. This internal strife poses a grave threat to the NDC’s chances of reclaiming the seat and sets the stage for a dramatic and unpredictable by-election.
The primary itself was a testament to the fierce competition within the NDC. Bernard Bediako Baidoo, a legal practitioner who also served as the constituency secretary, managed to secure the nomination with a razor-thin margin. He garnered 380 votes, narrowly defeating his closest rival, Erasmus Ali Korney, who received 366 votes. The outcome was a clear indication of a divided party, with no single candidate holding a dominant majority. The defeat of the former MP, Henry Yiadom Boakye, who came in third with 232 votes, further complicates the situation. While his loss shows that a large part of the constituency was ready for a new face, it also means that a substantial bloc of supporters is now without their preferred leader.
This division is the elephant in the room for the NDC. The discontent among supporters of the defeated candidates is not a quiet affair; it’s a vocal and growing chorus. The frustration stems from a feeling of disenfranchisement. Many of these supporters, who are the backbone of the party’s grassroots mobilization, feel that their preferred candidate—whether it was Korney or Boakye—was a more authentic representative of their interests. They believe their candidate had a stronger connection to the local community and a better chance of winning the general by-election.
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The by-election is not just any election; it’s a high-stakes, all-hands-on-deck affair where every vote is critical. The Akwatia seat became vacant after the unfortunate passing of the sitting MP, Ernest Yaw Kumi. In a constituency with a history of swinging between the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a unified front is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. The NPP, with its candidate Solomon Asumadu, is no doubt watching the NDC’s internal turmoil with keen interest. A fractured NDC is an opportunity for the NPP to capitalize on a split vote and snatch the victory.
The challenge for the NDC leadership is immense. They must now perform a delicate balancing act, healing the wounds of a tense primary while rallying the troops behind their new candidate. The party cannot afford a protest vote from a dedicated group of its own supporters. They need to engage in serious dialogue, address the grievances of the disgruntled factions, and remind everyone that the ultimate goal is not to win an internal primary but to secure the seat for the party. This means bringing the defeated candidates and their followers into the fold, giving them a meaningful role in the campaign, and demonstrating that Baidoo is a candidate for all NDC members, not just those who voted for him.
The next few weeks will be the most critical for the NDC. Baidoo’s victory in the primary was just the first hurdle. His real test lies in his ability to unite a fractured party and build a broad coalition of support. He and the party leadership must work tirelessly to mend fences and ensure that come September 2, 2025, every NDC supporter, regardless of their preferred candidate in the primary, is motivated to cast their vote for him. The future of the Akwatia seat, and the NDC’s political standing in the region, hangs in the balance. It’s a story of internal conflict, political strategy, and the very real possibility that a primary victory could lead to a by-election defeat.
