Incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for the Ablekuma West Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Madam Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has beaten her closest contender Roni Nicol, to emerge winner in today’s [Saturday] primary.
Out of the about 1,200 registered voters, only 876 cast their ballot. Ursula-Owusu polled 554 votes, whiles Roni Nicol garnered 317. There were five rejected ballots.
The third contender, one Theophilus Tetteh pulled out of the race at the last hour because according to him, he still had issues with the register. He has vowed to contest the election as an independent candidate.
The controversy over the voters’ register came to bear on the day of voting, as both contestants could not find their names on the electoral role and were prevented from voting.
However the incumbent MP was later allowed to vote because by the party’s instructions, MPs and national executives have the right to vote even if their names are not in the album.
Citi News’ Farida Shaibu says Madam Owusu-Ekuful appeared calm but very excited when the results were declared.
She says Nicol conceded defeat even before counting was over.
The primary in the area has been delayed for nearly nine months following disagreements over the constituency’s voters’ register.
Voting took place at the Dansoman Police Station polling center, and there was adequate security to ensure an incident-free process.
Madam Owusu-Ekuful had prior to the primary expressed the hope that she will emerge victorious to continue her unfinished business.
According to her, she has over the years helped to transform the area as an MP by lobbying for a number of projects to be executed.
13 constituency executives resign
Before Saturday’s voting however, some 13 constituency executives of the party announced their resignation following what they call disrespect by the national headquarters of the party.
According to them, the process leading to the primary had been skewed to benefit Madam Ursula Owusu-Ekuful.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AfanyiDadzie