Ahwoi thrown out of NDC vote

When Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, a onetime Minister for Local Government and Rural Development sat in his car and drove all the way to Sefwi Wiawso, where his father comes from, his aim was to cast his vote as a delegate in the regional congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

What he did not know was that, whilst he was cruising to the venue of the congress, the former Western Regional Chairman of the party, Michael Aidoo, better known as ‘Big Aidoo’, was also plotting on how to get him disqualified.

Big Aidoo did exactly that when he strongly protested to the NDC electoral officers that Professor Ahwoi was not a qualified delegate to vote at the regional congress.

Big Aidoo argued that the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) lecturer has not been registered with any branch of the party in the newly created Western North Region and does not, therefore, qualify to vote at the congress.

Though the rest of the Ahwoi brothers cast their votes, Prof Kwamena Ahwoi was, however, stopped in his tracks as a result of the protest.

The electoral committee, headed by Peter Otokunor, a Deputy General Secretary of the party, had earlier upheld Big Aidoo’s objection.

It is not clear why Chairman Aidoo targeted Prof Ahwoi, a stalwart of the party, leading to his disqualification.

He (Chairman Aidoo) admitted in a telephone interview with The Chronicle that he protested against Prof Ahwoi, leading to his disqualification as a delegate.

According to him, Prof Ahwoi is not a member of any branch in the region and per the party’s constitution he is not qualified to vote.

The election of the regional executives itself was a contest between Big Aidoo and Oscar Larbi for the Chairmanship race.

Each of the two contenders had formed slates to contest for various executive positions in the party.

But in the end, the camp of Big Aidoo swept all the elected executive positions of -Vice Chairman, Secretary, Communications officer, Organiser and Women Organiser among others. Big Aidoo himself polled 165 votes as against 104 by his close contender, to beat him for the Chairmanship position.

Meanwhile Ghana News Agency also reports that more than 280 delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the newly created Western North Region at the weekend elected their regional executives to manage the activities of the party.

Mr Michael Aidoo, a 60 year-old businessman was elected as the chairman for the Western North regional branch of NDC at the party’s delegates conference held at Bodi.

He polled 165 out of 287 total valid votes cast to beat his main contestant Mr Oscar Larbi, who obtained 104 votes.

Mr George Ofori Danquah polled 134 votes to win the position of a Secretary, while the position of Deputy Treasurer went to Mr Peter Obeng Nyamekye, the position of a Treasurer was not contested, because Mr Henry Rockefeller went unopposed.

The elections conducted by 15 officials from the Electoral Commission saw 33 aspirants contesting the 14 positions in the region, except the positions of the Vice Chairman and Treasurer, which went unopposed.

The Chairman, Secretary, Youth Organiser and Deputy Women’s Organiser and Deputy, as well as the Zongo Caucus, were all contested.

The 14-member executive was sworn into office by the Deputy General Secretary of the party, Mr Peter Boamah Otokunor.

In his acceptance speech, the regional chairman elect called for the cooperation of all to help strengthen the party so as to win the 2020 general elections.

Present at the ceremony were the former MP for Sefwi-Wiawso, Mr Paul Evans Addo, former Minister of Agriculture, Dr John Frank Abu and some stalwarts, such as Mr Sampson Ago, MP of Bodi and Mr Ato Ahowi.