NPP, NDC set for Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election on Jan 31
The two main political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are set for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-elections following the successful election of candidates by the two parties to contest in the by-election slated for January 31, 2019.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has set Thursday, January 10 to Saturday, January 12, 2019, to receive nominations for the by-election while pegging the filing fee at GH¢10,000.
Advertisement
It has also announced that nominations will be received at the Ayawaso District Office of the commission between the hours of 9:00 am and 12 noon and from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm on each day.
Lydia Alhassan elected
In a primary held on Saturday, December 29, 2018, one of the widows of Emmanuel Kyeremateng Agyarko, Madam Lydia S. Alhassan, was elected to represent the NPP.
She secured 441 votes to beat four other contenders, including a deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Mame Yaa Aboagye, who polled 76 votes, Ato William 131 votes, Victoria Esinam Odei, one vote and Samuel Owusu Amankwa 19 votes.
Responding to the victory, Madam Alhassan dedicated the victory to her late husband who was the Member of Parliament for the area and died suddenly in November 2018.
”We did it together, this victory is not only for Lydia but for the five of us (contenders). I will like to dedicate it to our late MP E.K. Agyarko ... we are in this together, let us go out there and retain the seat.”
NDC elects Delali Brempong
Meanwhile, the opposition NDC has elected Delali Kwasi Brempong to represent the party in the upcoming by-election.
Mr Brempong is the same candidate who represented the NDC in the 2016 parliamentary election and lost to the deceased, Agyarko of the NPP.
At last Saturday's primary organised by the NDC to select a candidate, Mr Brempong polled 415 out of the 724 total votes.
He beat Selassie Agbo and Ekow Acquah who got 115 and 190 votes respectively.
Dumelo vrs former Prez Kufuor’s son
Earlier, Ghanaian actor John Dumelo, had picked nomination forms for the contest but failed to submit it.
That was after a deputy National Communications Director of the governing NPP, Mame Yaa Aboagye, had told the Daily Graphic that Mr Dumelo’s decision to pull out from the contest had come at the heels of a revelation that he could not contest the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat in the Greater Accra Region because he was not a registered voter in the constituency.
But explaining the decision to pull out, Mr Dumelo said the NDC in the Hohoe Constituency, his hometown in the Volta Region, wanted him to run for the MP slot — although he would not say if he had decided to do so and when.
A few days later, Rev. Edward Agyekum Kufuor, also an actor and son of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, withdrew from the NPP by-election.
The Ayawaso West Wuogon seat became vacant following the death of Kyeremateng Agyarko, who died at the age of 60 on Wednesday, November 21, 2018.
He will be buried on January 26, 2019 at Odumase-Krobo, his hometown.
Writer’s email: [email protected]