NDC ELECTS NYAMEKYE-MARFO TO CONTEST SUNYANI EAST (PAGE 13)

A former District Chief Executive (DCE) for Sunyani, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, 53, has been elected the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary aspirant to contest the December 7, 2008 election for the Sunyani West Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He secured 157 votes to beat three other contestants in the constituency primaries, held at Mantukwa, a town off the Sunyani-Berekum road, on Wednesday.
The defeated aspirants were Mr Ahmed Boadan, Rev. Nana Adjei Ntow and Mr Obeng Apraku Tando. The election was conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) and supervised by representatives of the Regional Secretariat of the NDC, led by Mr Mohammed Seidu Maha, the Regional Youth Organiser.
With the Sunyani West primaries over as the 23rd in the region to be organised by the party, the Sene Constituency is the only one left to be held.
In a brief address before the delegates cast their votes, the Constituency Chairman, Mr Ishak Twumasi Ankrah appealed to the voters to be patient since all the primaries in the previous 22 constituencies in the region had recorded no violence.
Without any apparent reason, the Constituency Chairman took media men invited to cover the event to task by insisting that, they reported accurately whatever transpired at the primaries, and cautioned that any media house that failed to do so would face the law and would not be invited to cover any future events of the party in the constituency.
Mr Ankrah expressed optimism that the NDC would beat the New Patriotic Party (NPP) aspirant for the constituency, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, who is also the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister.
Before the EC representatives were called to declare the results of the elections after the counting of the ballot, the Regional Youth Organiser called on all the contestants to make their individual pledges to uphold and respect the outcome, saying that their invitation was in accordance with the party’s tradition at such primaries.
In turns, they all obliged to abide by the results and declared their unflinching support for the winner.
He then expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the delegates for the confidence reposed in him, having contested in three previous primaries but failed to win in the ultimate elections.
This time around, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo declared that even though the NDC was cash strapped, it would win the December elections convincingly since the electorate were yearning for a change in governance from the NPP.
He, however, advised the party’s agents who would be deployed to the various polling stations to be very vigilant and ensure that, the elections were transparent, free and fair, and promised to work hard to wrest the seat from the NPP.
For their part, Rev. Nana Ntow pledged to support the candidate-elect with 10,000 posters, while Mr Tando said he would make available a vehicle for his campaign , with Mr Boadan pledging his energy, wisdom and political experience to rally behind Mr Nyamekye-Marfo.