Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has blamed the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Nana Akua Afriyie’s defeat in the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun, saying it was the party’s internal confusion—not the Electoral Commission—that cost them the seat.
This comes after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Ablekuma North, Ewurabena Aubynn, emerged victorious in the long-disputed race, securing 34,090 votes to beat the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Nana Akua Afriyie, who garnered 33,881 votes.
Her victory flips yet another historically NPP-leaning constituency in favour of the NDC and restores parliamentary representation to an area left without an MP since the December 7, 2024, general elections.
The NPP rejected the decision, accusing the EC of breaching a court directive and announcing a boycott. However, in a surprising twist on July 10, Nana Akua Afriyie defied her party and chose to contest, citing a duty to the people of Ablekuma North.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, July 12, 2025, Mr. Fuseini said the lack of clarity and direction from the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) caused voter apathy and ultimately led to the NPP’s loss.
“There is a total breakdown of control and direction in the NEC of the NPP. As we speak, the General Secretary and the NEC should be apologising to the NPP in Ablekuma North,” he said. “Because when you look at the figures, it reveals that the NEC of the NPP created the confusion and robbed Nana Akua Afriyie of the election—not the EC.”
He explained that while the Electoral Commission announced that 5,600 voters were expected to cast their ballots in the 19 polling stations, only about 3,000 did, meaning more than 2,000 voters—largely believed to be NPP supporters—did not turn up.
“The NPP had earlier said they were not going to participate in the rerun,” Fuseini noted. “That communication likely discouraged many of their supporters. Now you turn around and blame the EC? How?”
According to the final results, NDC’s Ewurabena Aubynn won the seat with 34,090 votes against Nana Akua Afriyie’s 33,881—a margin of just 209 votes. Mr. Fuseini argued that this slim margin shows that the NPP could have easily retained the seat had their leadership not sown confusion.
