Ghanaians go to polls to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates on December 7, 2016. One of the constituencies to be keenly contested in the Northern Region will be the Savelugu Constituency.
The incumbent Member of Parliament, Hajia Mary Boforo, lost in the primaries to the current Municipal Chief Executive, Mohammed Abdulai Red, to contest on the ticket of National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The second placed person, Alhassan Iddirisu Buglung, a former Northern Regional Accountant of National Commission of Civic Education (NCCE), felt he was robbed of the opportunity to contest the parliamentary seat for the NDC and, so, decided to go independent against the laws of his party.
A visit to his office indicated that his supporters are ready to face any consequences of the party and are of the opinion that Mr. Buglun will win the seat for the constituency as an independence candidate.
A member of his campaign team, Abdulai Salifu, said their candidate was treated unfairly, one of the reasons the candidate is going independent.
He said four months after the primaries, Mr. Buglun was interdicted by NCCE for participating in active politics and argued that he was had been an assembly member for the past four years and was appointed by government as an assembly member for two years in Savelugu.
Mr. Salifu accused the MCE for using his influence to win the slot but this has since been denied by the MCE.
A demonstration by some supporters of Buglun took place in Savelugu to reverse the outcome of the primaries but that did not see the light of the day.
All efforts by those who matter in NDC including the First Lady, Lordina Mahama, to get Mr. Iddrisu to step down for the MCE failed.
The constituency has been in the grip of the NDC since the return to constitutional rule in 1992 with Hajia Mary Boforo as the Member of Parliament.
It is believed that Hajia Boforo is supporting the independent candidate, which has also been denied by the office of the independent candidate. But Hajia Boforo did not take part in NDC’s constituency launch neither was she represented.
In the program for the launch, her name and office was not included which cast doubts of her support for the MCE.
The split in the NDC has the tendency to create a lean way for victory for the party if the party has the chance to retain the seat. The General Secretary of the party, Aseidu Nketia, in a press release indicated that all members who are contesting as independent candidates are no longer members of NDC. The release added that those who endorsed and support any independent candidate ceases to be a member of the party and this may go a long way to affect the fortunes of the party especially the parliamentary election.
If Mr. Iddrisu’s supporters will not vote “skirt and blouse” and decide to vote presidential for NPP or refused to vote President Mahama for Presidential it may be a disaster for NDC.
The candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Abdul Samed Gunu came so close to winning the seat for his party in the last election. He was of the opinion that he was cheated by the Electoral Commission for Hajia Mary Boforo to retain the seat for NDC.
Few months after victory of Hajia Boforo, it was alleged that some “strange” ballots boxes were discovered at the office of the Electoral Commission in Savelugu. This was reported to the police in Tamale but was annulled by the office of the Attorney General.
Similar issue occurred in the Tamale North constituency where an independent candidate, Alhassan Dramani, won the seat from the then incumbent, Lawyer Abukari Sumani, who had been in parliament since the constitutional rule in1992. Lawyer Sumani lost the case in court when he sued Dramani that he did not hail from the constituency.
The pendulum of victory swings between NDC, NPP and the Independent Candidate, which makes it very unpredictable for both parliamentary and presidential.
The National Democratic Congress lost ten seats in the Northern Region in 2012.
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