Three political parties - New Patriotic Party (NPP), National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) - have presented candidates to battle it out for the Assin North Parliamentary seat today, Tuesday, June 27.

The seat became vacant after the Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 17, unanimously declared unconstitutional the election of James Gyakye Quayson as the MP for the area.

The highly anticipated by-election was however necessitated after Parliament wrote to the Electoral Commission declaring the seat vacant.

The two major political parties; NPP and NDC have since thronged the constituency to sway voters to their side in order to win the seat and bolster their numbers in the legislature.

Visiting the area on Monday, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare met with the leadership of the two parties. 

During the meeting, the political parties pledged to ensure a peaceful election and not engage in any illegality.

He also emphasised the need for impartiality, neutrality, and transparency in the electoral process.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission (EC) has expressed its readiness to conduct the Assin North by-election in a free, fair, and transparent manner.

In all, about 41,168 registered voters are expected to cast their ballots in 99 election centres.

More than 198 Biometric Verification Devices (BVD) are expected to be deployed with two at each polling centre.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Charles Opoku, is number one on the ballot paper, with the Liberal Party of Ghana’s (LPG) candidate, Bernice Enyonam Sefenu, occupying the second position on the ballot and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, James Gyakye Quayson, on number three.

Despite Research Agency Global Info Analytics' poll which tipped the NPP candidate the winner, many political expert believe that the NDC candidate could retain the seat.

On Sunday, campaigning by political parties and candidates for the Assin North parliamentary seat reached a crescendo with the involvement of President Akufo-Addo and former President John Dramani Mahama.

The two added weight to their respective parties’ appeal for votes ahead of the tight contest.

With a vacant seat to be filled, the by-election is seen as a crucial moment that could potentially shape the future of the constituency and also tilt the balance of power in Ghana's Parliament.