The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Kodua, has stated that the party will contest the upcoming Ayawaso East by-election and is confident of victory.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews Desk on Wednesday, January 7, Mr Kodua said the NPP has already begun the process of selecting a suitable candidate for the seat.

“Why shouldn’t we contest?” he asked. “The New Patriotic Party will contest the Ayawaso East by-election, and as I speak to you, we are doing our own candidate search to get a very good, well-accepted candidate to contest.”

Mr Kodua first extended condolences to the family of the late Member of Parliament and to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). “First and foremost, let me send my deepest condolences to the family and the NDC as a party,” he said.

He expressed surprise at comments made by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Ayawaso East, who reportedly appealed to the NPP not to field a candidate as a mark of respect for the late MP.

“I was very surprised and shocked that he could make such a statement. This is not the first time we have had by-elections in this country,” he said.

Citing past by-elections, Mr Kodua defended the NPP’s decision to contest. “When the NPP decided not to contest Tamale Central, the NDC decided to contest Akwatia. So for whatever reason that influenced them to contest Akwatia, the same reason is also influencing us to contest the Ayawaso East by-election.”

He rejected suggestions that the party’s decision should be influenced by whether Ayawaso East is considered an NDC stronghold.

“It’s not an issue of whether it is an NDC stronghold or not. We are going to contest, and we are going to make sure that we win the seat.”

On the timing of unveiling the party’s candidate, Mr Kodua said the NPP will be ready well ahead of the Electoral Commission’s timetable.

“With issues of death, I know the Electoral Commission has about 60 days to organise the by-election. So I can assure you that before the Electoral Commission opens nominations, the NPP will have a candidate for the Ayawaso East by-election.”

The Ayawaso East parliamentary seat became vacant following the death of its Member of Parliament, Naser Toure Mahama, on Sunday, January 4, 2026, after a short illness. He was a four-term MP representing the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Under Ghana’s Constitution, a by-election must be held to fill a parliamentary vacancy caused by the death of an MP or a court declaration, which has triggered the upcoming Ayawaso East by-election.

In the 2024 general elections, the late NDC Member of Parliament, Naser Mahama Toure, won the Ayawaso East parliamentary seat with 22,139 votes, representing 70.85 per cent of the total valid votes cast. The NPP parliamentary candidate, Zak Rahman, polled 9,110 votes, equivalent to 29.15 per cent. The constituency has a registered voter population of 49,966.