ANALYSIS: How NPP Won Navrongo Central

Tamale -- The subtle use of incumbency, the diffidence of the National Democratic Congress, the sloppiness of the People's National Congress and the seeming disinterestedness of the Democratic People's Party enabled the New Patriotic Party to sweep the Navrongo Central Constituency election like a gale ravaging through a cornfield.
At the final count, the NPP stood over the other parties like a colossus, winning 62 of the 87 polling stations and leaving 19 for the NDC, five for the PNC and none for the DPP. The NPP tied with the PNC in one of the polling stations.
From the onset, it was glaring that the NPP would win. For, they had used sheer resources and unbridled scheming to capitalise on the late John Setuni Achuliwor's funeral to make their presence ubiquitous and to cower the other parties.
First was the swoop on Navrongo by the party's functionaries and activists, then a stopover by President Kufuor on his way from Niger. This was followed by the visit of the vice president to the Upper East region to commission some projects, which he capped with a rally at Navrongo.
It was therefore not surprising that, as the foot soldiers of the NPP traversed the length and breadth of the constituency, its candidate, Joseph Kofi Adda, simply relaxed and spoke with aplomb when asked to assess his chances before the elections.
"My worry is not whether I would win the election, which is a certainty, but rather, what I would do for my people after taking my seat in Parliament," said the then candidate.
True to his words, his optimism has come to pass. And he, with some party dignitaries and activists, began celebrating his victory, even before the Electoral Commission officially announced the results.
While the collation of results was going on, it was clear that the NPP was in a commanding lead. But just with eleven ballot boxes more to count, Lord Commey, the party's national organiser, whispered in the ears of a few that, according to results he had received from party agents, certified by the various presiding officers, the NPP had beaten the NDC to the second position by 8,000 votes.
Somehow, it got to the crowd gathered outside. They erupted into elation, singing and stomping their feet in unison. When Adda appeared, he was mobbed amid appeals by EC officials for quiet and orderliness for the collation to continue.
When the collation ended, the announcement was a mere formality, as it only virtually confirmed Lord Commey's results. The NPP beat the NDC with 7,291 votes.
An overwhelmed Adda said: "My victory is a re-affirmation of the people's belief in the democratic process, freedom and personal liberties. The people of Navrongo have indicated, in the strongest terms by the wide margin of votes for the NPP, that they really want development and progress."
Adda swept 12,220(57.9%) of the total votes cast as against that of his arch rival, Clement Bugase, 4,929(23.4%). Contrary to claims that the PNC was going to cause a stir by reclaiming its "strong hold", its candidate, Gabriel Pwamang, came behind Bugase with 3,705(17.6%) votes.
Madam Grace Bagoniah of the DPP took the rear with 241(1.1-%) votes.
Indeed the DPP scored zero in several of the polling stations. But at one station, it polled 32 votes to beat the PNC (24). At the mention of this result, the collation centre burst into a resounding applause!
The voter turnout was not as expected as the election day was a Navrongo market day. People chose to go to the market to cater for their livelihood rather than go to vote. According to the EC, voter turnout was 50%. Total votes cast were 21,933; total valid votes 21095; rejected votes, 838 and total registered voters, 43,838.
Despite the usual allegations of vote-buying and intimidations, the election was generally peaceful as attested to by Dr. Josiah Aryeh, the NDC general secretary: "This was unlike Wulensi, which was very intimidating," were the words that dropped from his mouth.
"Credit should go to the EC for the way they organised the election," Aryeh continued, "We have given of our best despite the fact that the police wrote to us to freeze our campaign for four days. But we have done our best in the circumstance."
Dr. Edward Gyaderi, PNC chairman for the Upper West region who was there to monitor the election said: "The PNC is a little disappointed but has not lost hope. The impact of resources put into bye- elections by the NPP is suffocating other parties. We cannot compare ourselves with the incumbent and the NDC. The NPP is not promoting democracy. But we are happy that the election was peaceful."
Dan Botwe, NPP general secretary, debunked all the allegations of vote buying and intimidation, saying the result of the election is an indication of the confidence the people have in President Kufuor's government.
He added: "It is also an indication that our battle for 140 seats in Parliament is realisable. We are on the right path."