1,979 CONTEST ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN BRONG AHAFO (PAGE 13, DEC 22, 2010)

ONE thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine persons, made up of 1,830 males and 149 females have been duly nominated in the 766 electoral areas of the Brong Ahafo Region to contest the upcoming District Assembly elections.
Mr George Gyabaah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani indicated that one female contestant each was vying to be elected into the Kintampo South and Pru district assemblies.
Giving the breakdown of the contestants for the other districts, Mr Gyabaah said the Techiman Municipal assembly had the highest number of 131 candidates with nine women to stand the December 28, 2010 local poll, with Asutifi and Berekum having 124 contestants apiece including 13 and 10 females respectively.
The Tain and Kintampo North follow with 108 and 106 aspirants respectively, followed by Sene, 101 with six female contestants; Tano South, 100 with 14 women; Dormaa Municipal, 96 with 10 females; Jaman South, 95 also with 10 women contestants; Sunyani West, 93; Atebubu/Amantin, 91; Sunyani Municipal, 87 and Wenchi, 85.
According to the Regional EC Director, the Asunafo North and Nkoranza South follow with 78 each; Tano North, 72; Asunafo South, 66); Nkoranza North and Dormaa East, 64 and Jaman North, 63.
Mr Gyabaah said the regional office had taken delivery of notice of polls, which gave proof of all persons that had been duly nominated to contest the elections in the region, adding that the notice was meant to educate the electorate on how the ballot papers would look like and the position of the candidate, on the paper, their pictures, names, occupation and age.
He also indicated that his office had started mounting platforms for candidates in all the districts while training of Returning Officers and their deputies had been completed, who in turn were expected to go out to train Presiding Officers and Polling Assistants.
He, however, said that the office was yet to receive the ballot papers for the election but expressed the hope that they would be sent in from Accra by the close of the week.
At the time of the interview, district officers of the EC were taking away their respective materials for the polls, including notices of the poll, statement of poll, declaration of results forms, collation of results forms and guides to election officials.
Mr Gyabaah appealed to the electorate to participate fully in the elections by voting in their numbers in choosing those they found capable of leading them in their various communities and also be at the polling stations on time to avoid rush.
In a related development, 306 candidates are to contest the district assembly and unit committees' elections in the Sekyere Central District in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Raymond Nartey, the District Electoral Officer, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Nsuta that 84 of the candidates comprising 75 males and seven females would contest for the assembly poll in the 27 electoral areas.
He said 222 made up of 194 men and 28 women were contesting to join the unit committees.
Mr Nartey said three of the electoral areas, Hemame, Awanya and Nkwagri had no one contesting for the unit committee election.
He said campaign platform mounted by the Electoral Commission (EC) for the candidates in the district officially ended on Sunday December 19, 2010.
The candidates, however, have the right to do their own house-to-house campaign.