Boateng Retains Ejisu Seat For NPP
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has retained the Ejisu parliamentary seat after its candidate, Kwabena Boateng, garnered 27,782 votes, representing 55.79%, in Tuesday’s by-election.
He defeated his closest contender, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, a former MP for the area, who stood as an independent candidate, as well as four other candidates
Kwabena Owusu Aduomi received 21,534 votes, representing 43.24%, while Esther Osei of the CPP garnered 89 votes (0.2%), Beatrice Boakye of the LPG received 140 votes (0.3%), Gabriel Agyemang Joseph, an independent candidate, received 222 votes (0.4%), and Attakorah Joseph, also an independent candidate, received 23 (0.05%).
Victory SpeechÂ
Mr. Boateng, in a speech, vowed to unite the NPP in Ejisu ahead of the upcoming December 7 elections.
According to him, the NPP in Ejisu needs total unity and peace to keep the seat, pledging his readiness to lead that crusade in the best interests of the party and its supporters.
He described his victory in the by-election as a victory for all NPP members in the Ejisu Constituency.
Boateng expressed his appreciation to President Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP flagbearer, Vice President Dr. Bawumia as well as the leadership of the NPP and the constituents for their support.
Meanwhile, the election was generally peaceful as the people of Ejisu comported themselves, without any major incident being recorded in any of the voting centres.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command also did a yeoman’s job by stationing their armed men at vantage positions in the constituency, thereby contributing to incident-free polls.
Bribery Allegations
However, there were allegations that Kingsley Nyarko, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso, had bribed two Electoral Commission (EC) officials at the Fumesua Pentecost Church Polling Station during voting time and it has been captured in a viral video.
The EC in Ashanti Region, upon learning about this case, quickly released a press statement and said the two officials, who were captured in the said video for allegedly collecting a white envelope from the MP, had been withdrawn from the election.
“The Commission’s attention has been drawn to a video circulating on social media depicting one of the polling stations at the ongoing Ejisu Constituency by-elections. The Polling Station has been identified as the Fumesua Pentecost Church Polling Station with Polling Station Code F311503.
“The video shows a gentleman approaching the table and dropping an envelope on the table manned by the Presiding Officer and Ballot issuer. The Electoral Commission has taken immediate steps and has withdrawn the two (2) temporary staff while investigations take place.
“The Commission upholds the principles and values of integrity, truth and transparency. These values are reinforced during the training of all temporary staff. The Commission will not countenance acts which cast a slur on the integrity of the institution and will not hesitate to sanction its officials who violate its laws.
“The report on the incident will be made available to the public in due course,” a press release, dated April 30, 2024, signed by Samuel Tettey, EC Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations, noted.
MP Rebuts AllegationsÂ
Meanwhile, Kingsley Nyarko, the Kwadaso MP, has vehemently debunked reports that he bribed the EC officials with an undisclosed amount of money, which was concealed in a white envelope, saying that he only gave the two officials money for lunch but not to influence them in anyway.
“If I were to influence them, do you think I will do that in public space?” he asked, stating that, “What I want to put on record is that I did not bribe anybody, I have not influenced anybody to vote or to do anything untoward for my candidate,” the Kwadaso MP is reported to have told journalists.
Meanwhile, the EC in the Ashanti Region is investigating the case.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi