Dr. Maxwell Boakye
The electoral college formed to elect a Council of State member for the Western Region rejected the preferred person of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in yesterday’s exercise.
Prior to the Council of State election yesterday, the Western Regional Chairman of the NDC, Nana Toku declared on radio that the NDC had a preferred candidate and mentioned his name as Akwasi Nsiah-Awuah, a hotelier.
The NDC Regional Chairman told listeners that the party has endorsed Akwasi Nsiah-Awuah and was convinced that the hotelier would emerged victorious after the polls.
“He has been supporting the NDC in diverse ways including giving his hotel rooms to national NDC officers who visit the region to sleep in for free.
“And so we believe he is the right person to represent the region as the Council of State member,” he added.
However, at the end of the election yesterday, 32-year-old business man based in Tarkwa, Dr. Maxwell Boakye was elected as Council of State member for the Western Region.
The election, supervised by the Electoral Commission, saw the businessman polling 17 out of the 28 total votes cast.
The NDC’s preferred candidate had 10 votes while one other contender, Clement Adjei had one vote.
The 28-member electoral college comprised two delegates from each of the Western Region’s 14 districts.
In all, nine candidates, including two women contested for the position.
The Council of State in Ghana is a body of prominent citizens which advises the President on national issues. It was established by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi