NPP’s 2024 parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North, Nana Akua Afriyie, says she has rendered an unqualified apology to the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after defying the party’s directive not to contest the Ablekuma North election re-run.

While she declined to confirm whether she regrets flouting the party's orders, she stated that the apology was offered after the issue was raised at the NPP’s emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at the Alisa Hotel.

Meanwhile, former MP for Bekwai and chairman of the NPP's planning committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu, said Akua Afriyie’s apology was accepted by the party.

"The apology was taken in good faith. It was just to ensure that we respect the structures of the party in the future," he said.

However, he added that her decision to defy the party’s directive not to contest the Ablekuma North elections created confusion in the eyes of the public and did not reflect well on the party.

The National Democratic Congress' (NDC) Ewurabena Aubynn emerged victorious in the parliamentary rerun. She wrestled the seat from the NPP in a tightly contested race.

The NDC candidate polled 34,090 votes while the NPP’s Akua Afriyie polled 33,881 votes.

"A win was expected because we worked so hard," Ewurabena Aubynn told journalists.

This is the first time in the Fourth Republic that the NDC has won the seat, after decades of political dominance by the NPP.

• Read also: NDC’s Ewurabena Aubynn wins Ablekuma North seat in crucial rerun

The rerun followed a protracted dispute over the initial December 2024 parliamentary results, where violence at the collation centre halted the counting of results from 19 polling stations.

A High Court later ordered the EC to complete the process, but after months of delay and security concerns, the Commission opted to rerun the election in the affected areas.