Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has taken a swipe at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over its choice of candidate for the Akwatia by-election, insisting that the governing party’s victory was inevitable because the NPP fielded a “misfit”.

According to him, the NPP’s leadership ignored credible alternatives and imposed Solomon Kwame Asumadu, the Chief Executive of Owuo Mining Company, on the constituency.

Mr Asumadu eventually lost the 2 September 2025 contest, polling 15,235 votes against the NDC’s Bernard Bediako Baidoo, who secured 18,199 votes to capture the seat.

Mr Gbande maintained that the NPP had resigned itself to defeat even before the ballots were cast.

“The NPP knew right from the beginning that they were heading for a fall. The candidate they put forward was simply not fit for the purpose,” he asserted, criticising the sidelining of other aspirants.

He further noted that the NDC’s victory in Akwatia was the result of a disciplined and calculated campaign strategy.

“We went into the election determined to win without violence. That is something the NPP has still not learnt,” Mr Gbande stressed during an interview with Vivian Kai-Lokko on Channel One Newsroom.

The by-election followed the death of the Akwatia MP, Ernest Kumi.