The Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, has rendered an apology to Ghanaians after failing to fulfil his pledge to resign if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the Akwatia by-election.
Prior to the polls, Okyere Baafi had vowed to step down should the NPP be defeated. However, following Tuesday’s election on September 2—where the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Bernard Baidoo, secured victory with 18,199 votes against the NPP’s Solomon Kwame Asumadu, who garnered 15,235—the MP backtracked on his promise.
“Maybe in hindsight, I went too far. I apologise to Ghana,” he told Asaase Radio, explaining that the excitement and strong support for the NPP’s campaign in Akwatia led him to make the bold declaration.
The reversal has drawn criticism from political commentators including Dr Ishmael Norman, who argued, “I want to see Honourable Baafi resign because he made this announcement… otherwise, the party should kick him out.”
But Okyere Baafi insists an apology is the best course, stressing instead the need to reflect on Ghana’s electoral system: “What is important is that our system for conducting elections has now become dangerous; if you don’t have money, you can’t win an election.
