Several voters have queued to cast their vote in the NDC parliamentary primary in the Shai Osudoku Constituency of the Greater Accra Region, to replace the party’s candidate who died in a car crash in March, 2016.
The election, which started few minutes after 7:00am, is expected to end at 5:00pm.
The situation is generally calm at few polling stations Citi News visited in the constituency.
At the post office polling station in Dodowa, a total of about one thousand voters are expected to cast their votes.
As at 12:00 noon, about 500 people had gone through the process successfully. A total of 14,800 voters are expected to cast their vote in the constituency. The election is taking place in 50 polling stations in the constituency.
The two candidates contesting are Linda Akwele Ocloo, the wife of the late Parliamentary Candidate, and Michael Kpessa Whyte, acting Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat.
The NDC Shai Osudoku parliamentary slot became vacant after the elected candidate William Ocloo, died in a tragic accident at Juaso in the Ashanti Region, shortly after he was elected.
Mrs. Linda Akwele Ocloo, wife of the late candidate, although in a mourning mood, opted to honour her husband’s memory by vying for the seat. Dr. Kpessa White, who’s also a presidential staffer, is contesting the primary for the second time.
Some of the voters who spoke to Citi News noted that, they believe Dr. Kpessa Whyte with his pedigree, will bring more development to the constituency when voted for.
“Dr Kpessa Whyte is my man and I know he will emerge victorious after today’s polls”
Another voter also stated that, Linda Ocloo stands the higher chance of winning the elections because her late husband did a lot to help the youth, and also has great plans for the constituency.
“I know Mrs. Ocloo will win this election because she will carry on her late husband’s vision”.
I won’t contest Shai Osu-Doku NDC primary – Tetteh Assumeng
The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) incumbent Member of Parliament MP for Shai Osu Doku, David Tetteh Assumeng, opted out of the primary in solidarity with the deceased, Desmond William Ocloo.
Desmond William Ocloo won the party’s primary in November 2015.
He triumphed over David Tetteh-Assumeng, who has been in Parliament since 2004. Mr. Ocloo during the primary polled 4,350 votes while David Tetteh Assumeng had 1280.
Other aspirants in the race included the Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat (NSS), Dr. Kpessah Whyte, who polled 3,189 votes, while Ebenezer Adzakli had 393.
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By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana