Adentan MP Yaw Buaben Asamoa has won the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary poll to represent the party in the 2020 general elections.The Communication Director of the NPP beat competition from four other contestants.
He polled 422 votes.
His closes contestants Emmanuel Mantey had 217 and Freda Agyemang had 7 votes.
Ahead of the NPP polls, pollster Ben Ephson predicted that a victory for Mr Buaben Asamoa would mean a loss for the NPP in the 7 December 2020 polls.
Mr Ephson told Kwame Appiah Kubi in an interview on CTV’s morning show Dwabre Mu on Thursday, 18 June 2020 that Mr Asamoa would win the primaries because his three contenders, a former constituency Chairman Emmanuel Kwesi Mantey, Alfred Ababio Kumi and the only female contestant Freda Agyemang Sarpong, would split the ballots in his favour.
He, however, noted that Mr Asamoa would lose at the national elections.
In Okaikwei South, Mr Ahmed Arthur fell to Darkoa Newman.
Incumbent MP for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has beaten Ghana’s High Commissioner to India, Mike Oquaye Jr. in the New Patriotic Party’s 2020 parliamentary polls.The victory paves the way for the Minister or Procurement to have a go at retaining her seat in the 2020 general elections.
She polled 496 while Oquaye Jr. has 488 votes.
She told the media, “It is God who crowns kings”, adding: “It means everything to me”.
She said her victory “means that the people want a continuation of my good services”.
“We’ll continue the roads, schools, markets, health centres. This is evident of the fact that the people really want a continuation of those projects”, she said.
She noted that Mr Oquaye Jr. has called “to congratulate me and we are going to work together”.
Prior to the election, the competition between Mr Oquaye Jr., a son of Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament; and Adwoa Safo, who is also the Deputy Majority Leader, was very heated, a situation which prompted a strong warning from the President to the both of them.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo threatened not to include either of them in his future government if the two cause any confusion in the Dome Kwabenya constituency during the polls.
This was disclosed by Mr Oquaye Jr. at a durbar with party supporters.
Speaking to delegates at his constituency a few days ago, Mr Oquaye Jr. said: “This is from the President of the Republic of Ghana. Today, Adwoa Safo and I met him and the President said he doesn’t want any confusion between us, or any division at Dome Kwabenya.
He said between today and the time of the elections, I, Mike Oquaye Jr. and Sarah Adwoa Safo, whoever causes trouble in the constituency, he will advise himself and we will not be part of his future government.”
An allegation of impersonation halted voting at the Ghana Telecom University centre in the ongoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries at the Okaikwei South constituency in the Greater Accra Region.
The voting was halted for close to an hour over alleged impersonation by one of the delegates.
Graphic Online’s Timothy Ngnenbe reports that it all happened when one Martin Kwasi Asiamah was alleged to have voted in the name of Samuel Kwesi Asamoah without the officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the candidate agents noticing.
When Mr Samuel Kwesi Asamoah later turned up at the centre to cast his vote, it was detected that the box by his name had been ticked indicating that he had voted.
Mr Asamoah was therefore prevented from voting, a development that did not go down well with supporters of the various agents.
One of the contenders, Nana Fredua-Agyeman, took issues with the development and confronted the EC officials, resulting in the temporary halt of the voting process.
“It is unacceptable for one person to vote in another person’s name and so we must look for the one who impersonated and get him arrested,” he was heard saying.
After almost an hour of back and forth, the Okaikwei constituency executives were called to the centre to address the issue.
Resolution
The Okaikwei South constituency Secretary, Mr George Nii Kortei Quaye, told Graphic Online that the parties agreed that once it was an internal contest, they should allow the voting process to continue so that whatever issues there were would be addressed later.
Speaking to Graphic Online on the way forward, Nana Fredua-Agyeman said he was a firm believer in the right thing being done and that was why he pursued the issue.
“I have agreed that the voting process should continue but I still hold the strong view that people who do the wrong thing should be put right,” he stressed.
Graphic Online observed that some delegates at that centre left the centre holding standing fans.
Some of them accused the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Ahmed Arthur, of being selective in giving out the fans.
“When Nana Fredua-Agyeman was sharing his thing, he gave everyone, but Mr Ahmed who is the MP is being selective,” one of them said.
Responding to those allegations of vote-buying, Nana Fredua-Agyeman said he had not engaged in such a thing.
“Yes, I gave the delegates a thank you gift for coming to vote but I did not do so to buy a vote,” he said.
Asked what the “thank you gift” was, he said, “it is a gift and that is it.”
The incumbent Member of Parliament for Manhyia South constituency in the Ashanti region, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh has been endorsed to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the constituency for another shot at Parliament in the December 2020 elections.
He was endorsed through a popular acclamation as he was the only candidate who filed to contest the elections.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh has been in Parliament representing the people of Manhyia South since January 2009.
I have just been confirmed, through popular acclamation, as the Manhyia South Constituency New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the 7th December elections.
The short but colorful ceremony was attended by all the major stakeholders in the party in the constituency including the Council of Elders, Patrons, Executives, Electoral Area Coordinators, and others.
The various speakers, including Nana Kwaku Duah, the Council of Elders Chairman, acknowledged my efforts in uniting the party and bringing progress to the constituency over the years.
They gave assurances of their readiness to rally behind me so that our party would increase our votes to help retain the Manhyia South seat.
I am totally overwhelmed by the massive show of support and the confidence that the party has reposed in me. I am pledging to work harder than ever to enable President Nana Akufo-Addo to renew his mandate and continue to deliver progress for our dear country.
A delegate has been arrested at the Effia Constituency in the Western region for taking a picture of his ballot in the ongoing primaries of the ruling New Patriotic Party.
It is illegal in Ghana’s electoral laws for a voter to take a picture of their vote. The suspect has been taken to the Takoradi Central Police station.
Meanwhile, the Western Regional Secretary for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Charles Bissue has issued a stem warning to any aspirant found using macho men or vigilante groups. He said such aspirants will be disqualified automatically.
Speaking on Elections Hub on Empire Fm and Radio 360 in Takoradi, said the party has banned all forms of such groupings within the NPP.
“This is just a rehearsal, it should be a party affair, the real deal is about the NDC, we know our aspirants are law-abiding people but we just want to remind them about such unacceptable acts”, he warned.
He further revealed that the police have been informed to keep a close eye on Kwesimintsim, Ahanta West and Effia constituencies.
Other places:
Voting is currently on hold in Adansi Asokwa constituency in the Ashanti region as incumbent Member of Parliament, K. T Hammond has rejected a new register to be used for the election.
Mr Hammond rejected the register or photo album as he wanted another register to be used for the election. But his opponent, Nana Brefo has also rejected the register being proposed by the incumbent MP.
The situation has created a standoff between the two contestants which has led to the voting being put on hold.
Voting was expected to start at 7 am Saturday morning.
Delegates of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) are electing Parliamentary candidates to represent the party in the December 7 polls.
Executives of the party say the elections will be held within electoral areas to ensure enhanced social distancing and Covid-19 safety protocols.
A total of 374 aspirants are contesting in 168 constituencies. Of the number, 325 are men and 51 women. 67 of the aspirants are contesting unopposed and would be acclaimed by delegates of the party in the various constituencies.
The Adaklu District Assembly has begun the expansion of the school infrastructure ahead of the re-opening of schools to contain the growing number of pupils and students in the various schools across the district.
Currently, the Gbekor senior high school, one of Mahama’s Community Day schools is undergoing a number of expansion works, including a 600 capacity boys dormitory and another 500 capacity girls dormitory facility, which are due for completion by the end of June.
The new dormitories according to the DCE for Adaklu, Phanuel Kade Donkor is line with a decision to convert the school into a boarding status in anticipation of the September 2020 admissions under government’s Free Senior High School policy.
Boy’s dormitory under construction
He said, “in actual fact, we inherited this project from the previous administration but we thought it wise to add a boarding facility; and so, we are doing this through a support from the government of Ghana, Getfund and the District Assembly.
He added that, “we are doing this in anticipation for the arrival of the September admission of students under government’s Free SHS policy.”
The Gbekor senior high school, formerly known as Adaklu-Aboadi-Trefe senior high school currently has a little over 100 students but that number is expected to shoot up in the coming years starting from September this year.
In addition, the District Assembly has began the distribution of some 508 dual desk to selected schools across the district to improve upon the teaching and learning activities in the schools.
Gbekor SHS girl’s dormitory due for handing ove
Presenting the desks, the District Chief Executive said, “Education is one of government’s topmost priorities and it is in line with this agenda that the Assembly was compelled to invest the total grant of GH₵ 127,079.00 into education, following our qualification under the District Performance Appraisal Tool 2016 (DPAT I).”
He said the 508 desks which would seat 1016 pupils is just a first step to addressing the over 5000 furniture deficit in schools.
He hinted that another badge of 600 dual desks would be provided by October, 2020 beside mono desks and kindergarten furniture.
Receiving the desks on behalf of the Education Directorate and schools on Wednesday, 10 June, 2020 the District Director of Education, Mr. Francis Yao Agbemadi was grateful for the immense and continuous
support the directorate is enjoying from the Assembly, while adding that, “furniture plays an important role in efficient and effective teaching and learning.”
He stated that the desks would be immediately distributed to the eleven schools earmarked for the distribution.
He assured that the directorate would work with heads of the receiving schools to ensure that the furniture is well maintained.
Meanwhile, the District Assembly has completed a six-unit classroom block facility for the Adaklu Waya EP Primary school to reduce the growing congestion in the existing classrooms.
Currently, the old classroom blocks accommodate 70 pupils against its capacity of 40 pupils but the new classroom block has come in hand to help decongest the classes.
Mr. Phanuel Donkor Kadey indicated he was glad that a lot of effort was being made to improve education delivery particularly in the area of infrastructure among many other
projects which are ongoing within the district including another 6-Unit classroom blocks at Adaklu Anfoe.
Though basic schools remain shut amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the provision of adequate infrastructure remains the topmost priority of the Adaklu District.
The NPP Primaries in the Akim Oda Constituency has been hit with allegations of vote buying.
According to a report by Peace FM, the incumbent member of parliament, William Agyapong Quaittoo is said to be having a hard time convincing delegates to accept some goodies he is offering for their votes.
The Member of Parliament is said to be offering each delegate a flat screen TV, a fridge and an amount of GHC5,000.
However, the act is reported to have infuriated the delegates as this is the first time the member of parliament who is seeking a third term has gone out of his way to give them such an offer.
According to the delegates, the MP in his first and second attempts when he had minimal competition gave them GHC50 and GHC150 respectively.
The delegates are, therefore, reported to be throwing their support behind the MP’s opponents, some of whom have called on them to shun money and other form of inducements since the position of an MP is more about seeking the development and welfare of constituents.
The New Patriotic Party is today, June 20, 2020, holding parliamentary primaries in some 101 constituencies across the country. Polls opened at 7:00 am and is expected to close at 1:00 pm.
The Akim Oda contest is being battled out by Mr William Quaitoo who is facing Mr Alexander Akwasi Acquah, a journalist and the Chief Executive Officer of Community Hospitals Group, Mr Richard Asante Bediako, an Accra-based businessman and Mr Edward Kwaku Aboagye, a Financial Accountant.
In a live report monitored by GhanaWeb, the Ashanti Regional correspondent of Despite Media Group, Sampson k. Nyamekye has reported that voting was briefly disrupted at the Bantama Cultural Centre when an agent sought to prevent a delegate from casting his ballot.
According to the report, the agent representing current Member of Parliament for the Constituency, Daniel Okyem Aboagye prevented the Constituency Treasurer from voting on the grounds that his status as an official of the Foreign Affairs ministry does not qualify him to vote, even though his name was found in the album being used for the election.
He adds that the situation led to a scuffle that witnessed some blows and slaps being dished out at the polling station.
The reporter, however, indicated that security personnel in the constituency were quick to resolve the situation which could have escalated allowing the treasurer to finally cast his ballot.
Speaking on the situation, former Member of Parliament of the Constituency, Henry Kwabena Kokofu in an interview with the Peace FM reporter alleged that some ‘macho men’ whose presence around the polling station seems to be intimidating delegates is the machination of the current member of parliament.
Mr okyem Aboagye is facing stiff competition from Deputy Chief of Staff, Francis Asenso Boakye in the competition for the party’s parliamentary candidature in the upcoming December general elections.
The New Patriotic Party is today, June 20, 2020 holding parliamentary primaries in some 101 constituencies across the country. Polls opened at 7:00 am and is expected to close at 1:00 pm.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has broken his silence on the Airbus scandal by dismissing allegations of wrongdoing in the purchase of the two aircraft for the Ghana Armed Forces.
He has also denied benefiting from the deal financially.
Exclusive interview
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, Mr Mahama declared: “Let me state without any equivocation that no financial benefit accrued to me. Neither was there any form of inducement in the purchase of the aircraft. My singular motivation was to equip and retool the Ghana Armed Forces in a manner that would make the discharge of their national and international roles efficient and less burdensome and for all the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make, they do not deserve less”.
“I am happy that the said aircraft have become the backbone of the Ghana Air Force and its operations. They are used for troop transportation, logistics deployment and medical evacuation,” he stated.
He said he felt fulfilled that as Vice-President and later as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, his “overarching desire to ensure that our men and women in uniform were provided with the tools and equipment they needed to fulfil their constitutional mandate of ensuring public safety, security and protecting the territorial integrity of our nation were reasonably met”.
“I am proud that under my tenure as Chairman of the Armed Forces Council and as Commander-in-Chief, the security services saw the biggest retooling and equipping in the history of Ghana.”
The said aircraft were purchased for the military when Mr. Mahama was the Vice-President and Chairman of both the Armed Forces Council and the Policy Council.
Giving a background for the purchase of the two aircraft, Mr Mahama said as Vice-President between January 7, 2009, and July 24, 2012, he was assigned responsibility for the Ghana Armed Forces Council and the Police Council by the then President John Evans Atta Mills, who retained the Chairmanship of the National Security Council.
Mr Mahama explained that at the time of the acquisition of the aircraft and other equipment, Ghana’s security services required retooling.
“The Police Service had an aging fleet of Peugeot and Mahindra vehicles, the Ghana Navy had no vessel with which to patrol our coastal waters, the Ghana Air Force had only one functional 37-year-old F27 aircraft, which was still flying, only because of the ingenuity of our aeronautical engineers,” he said.
Mr Mahama said the Infantry Brigade of the Ghana Army relied on old Dongfeng trucks and a fleet of smoking pick-up vehicles, the Prisons Service, the Ghana Immigration Service, and the National Security Council Secretariat were virtually immobile due to lack of equipment.”
Processes
“All the processes and negotiations by the government in the acquisition of the aircraft were conducted directly with Airbus and my administration without any untoward influence either directly or indirectly through any agents it may have appointed. Indeed, nowhere in the available UK Court Documents has it been said that Airbus paid any public or government official on the side for the purchase of the aircraft,” he stated.
Mr Mahama said all decisions for the acquisition were conducted by a very competent team at the military headquarters.
“Some of our gallant and highly efficient officers who composed the technical team are still in active service in the military and I reject any idea that they have arrived at their decisions through inducement or coercion by any person,” Mr Mahama said.
Re-equip
Mr Mahama said a plan to re-equip the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service was submitted to, and approved by then-President Mills.
“It involved the acquisition of naval ships, aircraft, vehicles, arms and ammunition, safety equipment, field equipment, and expanding accommodation units,” he stated.
Former President Mahama indicated that at the time he took office as Vice-President in 2009, the military was already considering the acquisition of two C27J aircraft, but the quoted price, (above $40 million per unit) was considered high.
“Eventually, the military settled on two C295 aircraft at a cost of about $24 million each, bringing the cost of the two aircraft to about $48 million,” he emphasized.
Matters
Former President Mahama explained that the Airbus matter was an issue between the Airbus company and its representatives who were found to be in breach of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rules.
“This is clearly and unambiguously stated in all the available documents of the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO). It has nothing to do with the government of Ghana or with any official of the government. To state otherwise is to misrepresent the conclusions of the SFO report and spread deliberate falsehood.
Long silence
Asked why he did not comment on the issue at the time the news broke, Mr Mahama said he had been reluctant to personally comment on the various allegations made in respect of the acquisition of the aircraft except for the official reactions of his staff and former government officials.
“I recognised that it was the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor in Ghana, following the almost immediate referral to that body by the President,” he said.
When asked if the Office of the Special Prosecutor had reached out to him on its investigations, he answered in the negative.
He said recent events, however, had brought him to the realisation that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his administration were not interested in the issue as a matter of good faith, but rather they were determined to use it to further their political interests.
Corruption issues
Mr Mahama served notice that since the NPP had made the issue of corruption a major item of debate in the lead-up to the 2020 elections, he had accepted the challenge.
“I intend to address all the allegations of corruption made against me over the years, and I will also take on fully, Nana Akufo-Addo on his own record of corruption,” he stated.
One Hundred and Seventy (170) alleged fake delegates from 34 non-existing polling stations have been expunged from the Constituency photo album to be used for the New Juaben South Parliamentary Primaries of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP).
It follows a petition by Dr Mark Assibey Yeboah – incumbent Member of Parliament dated June 12, 2020, addressed to the General Secretary of the NPP John Boadu and copied to the National Chairman Freddie Blay, National Election Committee (NEC), all members of NEC and the Majority leader of the governing party that the photo album/Register had been tampered with hence the need to protect its sanctity.
The MP who is Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament said, the party has clearly stated that “The photo album/register which was used to elect the constituency executive in February 2018 shall be the same album which shall be made available to the National Parliamentary Vetting Committee (NPVC) and the Electoral Commission of Ghana for the conduct of the parliamentary primaries,” but the MP argued in the petition that, that provision was being violated with the creation of new album containing strange names.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, spokesperson for the Campaign team of the Lawmaker, Kwabena Boateng said although the 170 names smuggled into the register have been expunged, there are some 10 more names being contested in the album which the attention of the election committee has been drawn to.
He said the election may be marred by legal action if these names are not removed from the register.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah is slugging it out with Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Board, Michael Okyere Baafi in NPP’s upcoming primaries slated on Saturday, June 20, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Campaign team of Dr Assibey Yeboah has objected to the appointment of the Eastern Regional First Vice Chairman of the party to be part of three appointed top party officials to supervise the election.
The Regional First Vice Chairman, Alhaji Umar Bodinga has on several platforms declared his support for Michael Okyere Baafi Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Free Zones Authority.
Alhaji Bodinga recused himself during the vetting of aspirants due to his bias stance therefore the Campaign team of Dr Assibey Yeboah finds it strange that he has resurfaced and opted to supervise the Parliamentary primary.
