NPP Wins Kumawu Bye-Elections

The New Patriotic Party's (NPP) candidate, Mr Yaw Baah, has won the Kumawu constituency parliamentary bye-election polling 13,664 votes representing 76.85 percent of the votes cast.

His closest rival, Mr Richard Martin Osei, National Democratic Congress (NDC) secured 3,731 votes while Madam Rose Aboagye (DPP) had 185 with Mr Yaw Opoku Mensah (GCPP) and Mr James Yaw Owusu (PNC) receiving 124 and 75 votes respectively.

Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Asiamah, the Returning Officer, who declared the final results of the election, put the voter turnout at 45.55 percent. He said a total of 17,908 votes were cast and of the number, 17,658 were valid with 250 rejected.

Immediately after the declaration of the results, the Kumawu Township was thrown into frenzy as jubilant supporters of the NPP went into victory celebrations. The General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Dan Botwe, in a chat with newsmen expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the election.

He said all over the world mid-term elections are used to judge the performance of governments and that his party's victory in the bye-election was indicative of the support for the government's policies by the people.

Mr Botwe noted that the NPP's performance in the bye-election was higher than it achieved in the 2000 Parliamentary elections, saying, this showed the popularity of the government with the people.

The NDC, DPP and GCPP did not show up at the dining hall of the Tweneboa Kodua Secondary School where the results were declared, although they had in the previous night been informed about the arrangement by the Electoral Commission (EC).

The Kumawu parliamentary seat became vacant following the death of Mr Reo Addai Basoah, the Member of Parliament (MP) on 30July 2002 at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.