Lower Manya Krobo elects Presiding Member
The tussle over the election of a Presiding Member (PM) for the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly for the past three months was put to rest with the election of a 38-year-old lecturer at the Sociology Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Peace Mamle Tetteh.
The new PM, a government appointee, polled 41 votes out of the 44 valid votes cast, representing 93 per cent, with remaining three being rejected ballots.
The election was conducted by the Municipal Electoral Officer, Mr Asare Baffour.
An incident involving a contestant for the PM position however, delayed the meeting for almost three hours as the members considered the issue as a legal one which needed care, tact and diplomacy to handle.
An elected member of the assembly for Manyakpongunor Electoral Area, Mr Frederick Matey, with a letter purported to have been written by the Municipal Coordinating Director for the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly, Mr Elias Kweku Mensah, alleged that the assembly member for the Okwenya Electoral Area, whose electoral area was ceded to Lower Manya Krobo by the Electoral Commission in the last election, had not vacated his seat at the Yilo Krobo Assembly but was not qualified to contest the position of PM for Lower Manya Krobo.
The issue, which was highly legal, controversial and political, dragged on for almost three hours until the Assembly Member in question, Mr Sam Beddai, stepped down for the two other contestants, the elected members for Odumase South and Akuse Zongo Electoral areas respectively, Messrs Benjamin Awulley Mensah and Philip Teye Mensah Dasinor.
Having cleared that hurdle, the two contestants were voted for but each had 20 votes apiece with four rejected ballots. It, therefore, became clear that it was not going to be easy if the two should continue. After consultations, Mr Dasinor stepped down for Awulley in the interest of the assembly.
However, after voting “yes” or “no” to confirm him, he could not make the two–thirds majority as he got 29 votes instead of 31 or more, with 15 members rejecting him. Awulley was, therefore, technically knocked out, paving the way for fresh nominations.
The new Presiding Member and an elected Assembly Member for the Odumase North Electoral Area, one Mr Winfred Tetteh, picked the forms, but having considered the interest of the assembly and the vast experience of the lecturer, he gently conceded ahead of the voting and stepped down for her. She was, therefore, massively confirmed the third woman leading the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly since 1992.
She was duly sworn in by the Presiding Judge of the Odumase Krobo Circuit Court, Mr Asmah Akwasi Asiedu.
In her acceptance speech, she thanked the members of the assembly for their overwhelming support, adding, “Let us put our differences aside as it is time for us to work in the interest of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality”.
Earlier, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Jacob Frederick Kwablah Acolatse, appealed to the assembly members to consider the interest of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality as the delay in electing a PM had cost the municipality dearly.
A member of the assembly who spoke to the Daily Graphic on the condition of anonymity said the delay for the past three months in electing a PM was purely due to partisan lines.
“How can a ruling party allow an opponent to be a PM? It will never happen anywhere in Ghana and in Lower Manya, and that caused the delay,” the member added.
The Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr John Kofi Adomako, who was in charge of the municipality until the MCE was confirmed, was very grateful to the members for the honour done the assembly.