The Minority in Parliament has described as “a threat to fair trial and justice”, President Nana Akufo-Addo’s caution to the people of Assin North against voting for a jail-bound person in the lead-up to the recently-held by-election.

In the heat of the campaign, Mr Akufo-Addo, on the campaign platform in Assin North, wondered why the constituents would vote for the then-National Democratic Congress candidate, Mr James Gyakye Quayson – who subsequently won the poll and got sworn into office today, Tuesday, 4 July 2023 – since, in his view, he could not work from prison, should he be jailed at the end of the ongoing criminal trial against him.

"It is crucial for us to exercise our voting rights responsibly”, Mr Akufo-Addo said at the time, adding: “We should not support or vote for individuals who are entangled in legal controversies that may eventually lead them to face imprisonment".

“We need someone who can come and help you. Someone who will work in your interest. I heard Gyakye Quayson say that, 'Even in prison, you people will vote for him'. Can he work from jail? We vote for people to go to parliament to work. How can he work from prison? So, don’t vote for someone who will end up in jail. Vote for someone who can work to improve your lives", the president urged the Assin North voter

Commenting on the matter on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, after Mr Quayson was sworn into office by Speaker Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson, said the president’s comment was “prejudicial” and left much to desire.

Mr Quayson himself, shortly after his electoral victory, said the president’s comment was "disappointing".

"I was a bit disappointed to hear that from a president who is a lawyer", Mr Quayson told journalists after his re-election in Tuesday's by-election.

He said "the good people of Assin North have demonstrated that they have a conscience and they believe in me and I have a vision to execute".

Mr. Quayson polled 17,245 votes representing 57.56 per cent of the total valid votes.

He beat his archrival Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who polled 12,630 votes representing 42.15 per cent of the total votes.

A third candidate, Bernice Enyonam Sefenu, of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), polled 87 votes (0.29%).

The by-election was conducted after the Supreme Court declared Mr Quayson’s 2020 election victory as null and void with reason that he held Canadian citizenship in addition to his Ghanaian citizenship, as of the time of filing to run for office in the 2020 polls.

After his by-election victory, Mr Quayson said: "I stood for justice and development and I still haven’t swayed, and I will continue to pursue the same agenda because that is the mandate Assin North has given me and this is a victory not just for me but for the people of Ghana and hopefully, one day, we will pursue a good direction of justice and also to realise that politics is not about sharing money to people to get a vote.”

He noted: "Democracy is about development, and we are going to set this trend along to make sure that people who are represented get a fair share of the national cake and how to develop their communities".