Bolgatanga, Feb 23, GNA - Eighteen delegates have been selected from the nine District and Municipal Assemblies in the Upper East Region to form the Electoral College to elect a regional representative to the Council of State. The assemblies comprise the Bolgatanga and Bawku Municipal Assemblies, Bongo, Bawku West, Kassena-Nankana, Builsa, Garu-Tempane, Talensi-Nabdam, and Kassena-Nankana West district assemblies. The delegates are expected to convene on Monday at the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to receive further instructions with regards to the electoral process. The delegates, made up of six women and 12 men, would have the duty of electing one of the four contestants who filed for the post.

The candidates, who have for some time now been engaging in a series of lobbies to get the delegates to vote for them, include the Very Reverend Dr. Jacob Ayeebo, PhD holder and a native of the Bawku West District. Reverend Ayeebo is also a development worker and heads the Anglican Diocesan and Development Relief Organization (ADDRO). He is the immediate past Presiding Member of the Bawku West District Assembly as well as the Dean of the Anglican Diocese of Tamale. He is a Supervising Examiner for two universities, namely the North West University in South Africa and Greenwich School of Theology in the United Kingdom.

Also in the race is Mr Robert Atuguba, a retired educationist and one time Chief Editor at the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in charge of the French Desk, and a key member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the region.

The others are Madam Melanie Kasise, also a retired educationist, and a Diploma holder in advanced studies in education, who heads the Sirigu Women Pottery and Arts Association (SWOPA), and Madam Hilda Salifu, a businesswoman and a holder of Teacher Certificate 'A', who is a native of Bolgatanga. She is the National Second Vice Chairman of the NDC.

The Deputy Upper East Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr Godwin Okley, when contacted said everything is set for the election on Tuesday. He indicated that the ballot papers with the photographs of the candidates on them were ready, adding that, the EC was yet to get the full list of the delegates from the RCC. "Once the delegates are together it should not take the EC more than an hour to finish the voting process and announce the results," he said.