General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, has dismissed suggestions that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) pulled out of the Tamale Central by-election in good faith.

According to him, the opposition party has withdrawn because they do not stand a chance of winning the seat.

Speaking to the media during the Akwatia by-election on Tuesday, September 2, Mr. Kwetey said the NPP’s explanation was only a cover for its weak standing in the constituency.

“The truth is that NPP knows they have no chance in Tamale Central. They can bring Bawumia; he will lose miserably in Tamale Central. So that was just a pretense, taking advantage of the sympathy … it was a game they were playing,” he said.

His comments came in response to a question on whether by-elections should be maintained given their cost to the state, or whether the Constitution should be reviewed to allow a party to automatically replace its Member of Parliament if a seat becomes vacant.

“Constitutional reviews are things that we should always be open to having. After 32 years, you always want to bring changes, so there is nothing wrong with that.

"So that is a conversation NPP and NDC, we should be able to sit together and have an agreement upon, and once we do, we both will be able to push that in Parliament,” Mr. Kwetey explained.

He added that while the NPP’s decision in Tamale Central was only strategic, the situation in Akwatia is different, as the NDC believed the 2024 general election result was unfairly declared in favour of the NPP.

“Akwatia is a place we believed we won on December 7, but it was declared for them, so we believe the people of Akwatia needed an opportunity to make a final choice between the NDC and the NPP who won the seat in December,” he stressed.