The Member of Parliament-elect for Akwatia, Bernard Baidoo, has hailed the Electoral Commission (EC), security agencies, and residents for ensuring a peaceful and credible by-election.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse, Mr. Baidoo described the election as “very peaceful,” noting that security officers maintained a strong presence without intimidating voters.
“We are grateful to the security officers; we are also grateful to the Electoral Commission for how they conducted themselves. The security were all over the place, but they didn’t intimidate anybody. I never heard of anybody being molested or intimidated just because the security was present. They were there to make sure the right thing was done—and the right thing was done,” he said.
He further praised constituents for their discipline and maturity throughout the polls.
“The biggest congratulations go to the populace, I mean the constituents—who saw the need to conduct themselves in a way or manner that would not call for the intervention of the security. And so generally, it was good. We all played our part. The political leadership also knew that there was no need to bring in any acrimony into this election, and so we behaved in a very mature manner, free of any acrimony, like I said, that would engulf the elections and require the intervention of the security,” he said.
While expressing satisfaction with the overall conduct of the polls, the MP-elect raised concerns about voter turnout.
“The only thing we may want to improve upon is the turnout. We were looking at a bigger turnout, but we couldn’t reach the target for 2024. Largely, I think the political elite is to blame. These are people who should know better,” he added.
Mr. Baidoo was declared the winner of yesterday’s by-election, held to replace the late Ernest Kumi, the constituency’s former MP.
He secured 18,199 votes, representing about 54 percent, in a significant breakthrough as the NDC recaptured the crucial swing seat from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).