NHIA director wins Bunkprugu NDC primary
The National Director of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in charge of Quality Assurance, Dr Anthony Gingong, was last Saturday elected as the parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the Bunkpurugu Constituency in the Northern Region.
Advertisement
Dr Gingong garnered 2,542 votes to beat his closest contender, Dr Benson Boinkum Konlaan, a lecturer, who secured 2,271 votes to win the party’s primary. Other contestants who took part in the election include Jagong Tahidu, a teacher, Duut Bonchel Abdulaii, a former aspirant, and Azumah Konlaan, a graduate who obtained 1,060, 570 and 196 votes respectively.
Dumsor/valid vote cast
However, power outage, popularly known as “dumsor”, and a downpour nearly marred the beauty of the peaceful and smooth election as electoral officers had to rely on torches to count the ballots.
A total of 6,628 valid votes were cast with 183 rejected ballots in the election which took place in 27 polling stations across the Bunkpurugu Constituency under the supervision of the District Directorate of the Electoral Commission (EC) led by the District Director, Mr Lauris Akundikiyah, who also declared the results of the election.
Dr Gingong, who is now the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Bunkpurugu Constituency, would slug it out with the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Solomon Boar, in the general election.
Operation win all seats
The primary in the constituency was put on hold last year following a legal battle between the party and a former Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Nambuar Berrick, who was disqualified by the party.
With the Bunkpururgu primary now over, the party has the full complement of its parliamentary candidates to contest the elections in the 31 constituencies in the Northern Region.
The NDC has declared its desire to win in all the 31 constituencies in the Northern Region. Currently, the NDC has 19 seats, while the NPP has 10 seats, with the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and an independent candidate holding a seat each.
Hard work
The National Women Organiser of the NDC, Hajia Joyce Zainab Mahama, and the National Youth Organiser of the party, Mr Sidii Abubakar Musah, who witnessed the election, both urged members of the party in the constituency to close their rank and work hard to enable the party to snatch the seat from the NPP in the general election.
Dr Gingong, in his acceptance speech, pledged to work with the rank and file of the party in the constituency, as well as his fellow contestants, to wrest the seat from the NPP and also win more votes for President John Dramani Mahama in the forthcoming election.