Rashid Pelpuo wins Wa Central constituency ticket

Incumbent MP and Minister of State, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, won the parliamentary primary in the Wa Central Constituency of the Upper West Region, beating the closest challenger by 2,450 votes margin.

Dr Pelpuo received 4,945 votes to return as the National Democratic Congress' candidate for the 2016 general elections, with second-placed deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Mohammed Musheibu Alfa, receiving 2,495 votes.

The three other candidates - Kamara-deen Kukurah, Iddrisu Mahama and Wahid Bampuori - received 528, 223 and 37 votes respectively.

It was a contest that drew attention in Upper West largely on the basis of the sizes of the leading candidates.

But the complex structure of the voter population in the constituency seemed to have ultimately favoured the incumbent.

Provisional results elsewhere indicate former regional minister, Bede Ziedeng, polled 2,747 votes to beat incumbent parliamentarian Sampson Abu who polled 2,731 votes in Lawra Constituency.

There were indications too in Wa East that Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture, Dr Henry Seidu Daanaa, had beaten incumbent MP Ameen Salifu to the race.