The Director of Research and Elections of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Evans Nimako, has dismissed claims that the party’s defeat in the Akwatia by-election amounts to a wholesale rejection of its political message.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Wednesday, 3 September, Mr Nimako described such interpretations as simplistic, arguing that the results must be understood within their proper context.

“The figures as declared by the Electoral Commission show that the NDC candidate secured 18,199 votes, while the NPP candidate obtained 15,235 — a difference of 2,964,” he noted.

“We won this constituency as recently as December by a margin of more than 2,000 votes, so it is misleading to suggest the people of Akwatia have turned their backs on us.”

Mr Nimako maintained that the outcome was less about the NPP’s policy agenda and more about the circumstances surrounding the by-election campaign. He alleged that inducements and the misuse of state resources by the governing party played a decisive role.

“We witnessed inducements in the constituency, clear abuse of incumbency — all of those were evident,” he asserted.

The Akwatia by-election was triggered by the death of the sitting MP, Ernest Kumi.

The NDC’s Bernard Bediako ultimately captured the seat, which the NPP had won in the 2024 general election.