Frederick Lartey Otu has been re-elected as President of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) for a third consecutive term after polling 16 out of 27 votes at Saturday's Elective Congress.
The congress, staged at the media centre of the Accra Sports Stadium last Saturday, finally went ahead after earlier disagreements over the eligibility of some voters threatened to derail the process. However, following interventions by the Ghana Olympic Committee's Vetting and Elections Committees, the impasse was resolved, paving the way for delegates to cast their ballots.
Mr Lartey Otu defeated his sole challenger, Charles Tsibo Cromwell, in an election that saw delegates from across the country converge on the nation's capital to decide the leadership of the sport for the next four years.
In the race for Vice President, Maxwell Theodore Alornyo emerged victorious with 14 votes, defeating Hamidu Abdel-Fatao, who polled 10 votes, and Martin Prince Oppan, who secured three votes.
Two board members were also elected to join the federation's executive. Kankpenuba Peter N. Wisdom and Simon Koku Gluikpor both secured 16 votes each to claim the two available slots, seeing off competition from Terrance Asare (10 votes) and Stephen Amegashie (12 votes).
Mr Lartey Otu, a senior Customs officer with the Ghana Revenue Authority, brings over two decades of experience in taekwondo administration. He holds a 7th Dan Black Belt and serves as Second Vice President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, a Council Member of the African Taekwondo Union, and a Council Member of the Commonwealth Taekwondo Union. He also chairs the AFTU Development Committee and sits on the World Taekwondo Development Committee.
Under his leadership over the past eight years, Ghana has pioneered Para Taekwondo, hosted international events, and achieved notable success in international competitions.
Speaking ahead of the congress, Mr Lartey Otu said: "I welcome the challenge posed by my fellow contestant. At the end of the day, it is the delegates that would decide who leads the federation. I believe I am a better candidate and I would therefore appeal to the delegates to vote for me."
The election was overseen by independent Vetting and Elections Committees inaugurated by the Ghana Olympic Committee – the first time the GOC has actively deployed its dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve a federation impasse.
With his re-election secured, Mr Lartey Otu now turns his focus to expanding grassroots development, strengthening regional structures, and deepening partnerships to secure more resources for Ghana's taekwondo athletes.
