KEEN CONTEST EXPECTED IN UPPER WEST (PAGE 15)

This year's general election in the Upper West Region promises to be keenly contested as various political parties have stepped up their political campaigns.
The intensity of campaigning by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is so visible, in comparison with other parties who are working on the quiet, but striving to make their presence felt in the region.
While the NPP has targeted at least four seats, the NDC has sworn to retain all their seats and reclaim Sissala West as well as Sissala East, which were won by the People's National Convention (PNC).
The confidence of the NPP is high due to the fact that the party has since 1992 been increasing its voting percentage.
From 11.19 per cent in 1992, the party has moved to 32.23 per cent in 2004, and has now targeted 50 per cent of the valid votes to be cast.
In the parliamentary elections, the battle ground is the Lawra-Nandom Constituency where old friends square each other up for the second time. They are Dr Benjamin Kumbuor and Mr Ambrose Dery of the NDC and NPP respectively. During the last election in 2004, Dr Kumbuor defeated Mr Dery with 19,306 votes representing 62 per cent as against 10,549.
Although Mr Dery increased the votes of the NPP from a mere 2,000 in the year 2000 to 10,549, it was the belief of the people that he would have done better if he were visiting home regularly. People in the constituency at that time did not know him very much.
Therefore, when he was made the Regional Minister, Mr Dery worked hard to consolidate and improve upon his performance, hence the high level of confidence of his supporters.
Another dimension that has boosted this conviction is the candidature of Mr Bede Ziedeng, a former member of the NDC, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister and now the General Secretary of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), a break-away party from the NDC. With Mr Ziedeng, also a prominent citizen of the constituency, he is likely to take a chunk of the NDC votes for Mr Dery to sail through.
However, a staunch supporter of the NDC, Mr Stephen Kpen, dismissed the assertion and described Dr Kumbuor as an old fox with a wealth of experience to dismiss the bluff of all opposition.
"We do not fear them and come the election day, their supporters will sleep early," he told the Daily Graphic.
In the Wa East Constituency, which, incidentally, was the only seat won by the NPP in 2004, Mr Godfrey Tangu comes face to face with Ameen Salifu, based in the United Kingdom.
Tangu won 10,947 votes to beat the then NDC incumbent Alhaji Issahaque Salia, who had 9,275. The NDC attributed the defeat to a lack of effective campaign on the part of their candidate. Mr Salifu, is therefore, moving to every part of the constituency to sell his message to the people.
The Wa Central Constituency is a straight fight between NDC's Rashid Pelpuo and the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Clement Eledi. In 2004, when the popular choice of the NPP supporters was defeated at the primary by Mr Adama Keglah, his supporters voted ‘skirt and blouse’ for President J.A. Kufuor in the presidential elections and Mr Bernard Mornah, the parliamentary candidate for the PNC. Keglah had 7,249 as against Mornah's 12,280 votes.
President Kufuor had a little over 19,000 votes, Dr Edward Mahama 3,000, and Professor Evans Atta Mills 22,000.
The argument by NPP supporters is that but for the confusion, Mr Rashid Pelpuo's 21,272 would not have been enough for him to win. With their confidence level rising by the day, NPP supporters are optimistic that this time around, Wa Central would fall to them. But there is one major issue which may militate against Eledi's dream and this is tribal.
Eledi is a Dagao from Cherrie in the Wa Municipality and Pelpuo is a Wala. The argument of some Wala people is that, since their tribe is mainly found in the Wa Municipality, which, incidentally, is the Wa Central Constituency, a Wala man should represent them or else there would be no Wala tribesman in the Legislature. They also contend that the Dagao's have a lot of constituencies in the Upper West Region. Although this may sound simplistic, it is one issue that has dominated most informal discussions.
The battle for Sissala West is too close to call. The present Regional Minister, George Hikah Benson, who is contesting for the second time, would have tough customers in the incumbent MP, Mr Bayirga Haruna of the PNC and Mr Robert Wavei of the NDC. Wavei replaces Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, who lost with only29 votes to Mr Bayirga 4,788; George Hikah Benson 4,419 and Alhaji Amidu Suleimana 4,759, while an independent candidate, Mr Peters Kale, polled 1,677.
The votes of Mr Peters Kale, who was then a renegade member of the NDC, made Alhaji Amidu to lose, but currently he is back in the camp of the NDC and the expectation is that he would convince his Fielmua community, which is an NDC-dominated area, to vote for the NDC parliamentary candidate.
However, never be shocked to see George Hikah Benson springing a surprise. Moses Dani Baah is very likely to retain his seat, despite the NPP putting up a candidate, for the first time, to contest. The NDC candidate was no match for Mr Dani Baah. He could poll only 4,943 as against 14,186 by Mr Dani Baah.
Lambussie and Nadowli East present an open contest where any of the parties can win the seats. However, Wa West, which will have been a close contest between the NPP and the NDC candidate, had seen a new dimension following the nomination of Major Edward Yirimambo (retd) as an independent candidate. Major Yirimambo contested on the ticket of the NPP and lost to Mr Yieleh Chireh of the NDC in 2004.
Therefore, it is the view of some NPP activists that Major Yirimambo would spoil the party for the NPP candidate, Mr Dan Dari.
As for Jirapa and Nadowli West, the NPP and other parties should forget about them because of Edward Salia and Alban Bagbin. They seem too strong to be defeated by the NPP, unless the unexpected happens anyway.