The Tamale North constituency in the Northern Region is expected to be one of the keenly contested constituencies during the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary primaries.
Seven names have already popped up including Mohammed Abdul Salam, the constituency Secretary, Radio Gold’s Alhassan Suhuyini, the former Member of Parliament, Alhaji Abukari Sumani and the immediate past Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. Abdulai Salifu.
[contextly_sidebar id=”u0VsoYx260IvX9wTx457ron5hugfT4aS”]The rest are Mohammed Kamaldeen, Accountant Tamale Polytechnic, Mohammed Nabila, Director National Youth Council and Mohammed Abdullah, former staff at the Ghana Education Service headquarters.
Apart from Radio Gold’s Alhassan Suhuyini who has openly declared his intention earlier in a Citi News interview, the Tamale North constituency Secretary, Mohammed Abdul Salam has also announced his bid.
Mohammed Abdul Salam is emphatic that he will emerge victorious at the end of the primary.
According to him, he has since 1992 served the party in various capacities and that he was well connected to the grassroots.
“I do not doubt that at the end of seventh November the person to be declared the winner of the congress for Tamale North will be Mohammed Abdul Salam but I am saying that it is a game of politics: within a space of three months a lot of things can change for which reason I am not trying to play as a frontrunner.”
“I am pretending to play into the game as the under-dog I do not believe that there is any branch in the NDC in the constituency of Tamale North where you if you have an assembly of 10 people I will not be able to identify seven out of the 10 by their names that is the kind of relationship that I have with Tamale North.”
He said his popularity was enough to win the primary. “Since the dates were announced a lot more people of have been calling on me you know other persons have gone round communities to introduce themselves and to express interest in running as aspirants but I have not, I am known and I don’t need to go round announcing my intention even before time.”
About six thousand card bearing members might elect their next Parliamentary candidate for the 2016 Parliamentary election.
The incumbent Member of Parliament for the Tamale North constituency, Hon. Alhassan Dahamani won the seat as an independent candidate in 2012.
Though President John Mahama overwhelmingly won the Presidential poll, the former MP, Hon. Abukari Sumani suffered from skirt and blouse voting.
The expansion of the NDC Electoral College will change the dynamics of the upcoming Parliamentary primaries especially that of the Tamale North constituency.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana