Keen contest at Upper West NDC congress today
Thirty-eight aspirants, including one female, are in a keen competition for 12 National Democratic Congress (NDC) positions available at the Upper West regional branch of the party.
The fate of the aspirants will be determined by 134 delegates drawn from 11 constituencies of the region at the seventh regional delegates conference of the party which takes place at the Wa GNAT Hall today.
This follows a successful vetting last Saturday which all the candidates sailed through.
From all indications, the race for the regional chairmanship, being contested by five aspirants, will be a close run. This is because it is the first time that such a large number of aspirants are slugging it out for that position.
During the past regional elections, the delegates had retained the incumbent, Alhaji Issahaque Malik, a 70-year-old businessman based in Wa, prompting some pundits to predict that the incumbent has a slight advantage over the rest and he might chalk up another victory. However, a number of recent events have bolstered the chances of other aspirants.
In 2009, one Mr Matthew Song-Aabo, a 59-year-old economist, was mentioned as the sole opponent of the long-serving incumbent, but due to some strange circumstances, he was dropped and Alhaji Malik continued to hold the position till now.
Other aspirants are Alhaji Issahaque M. Natonah, alias "Double Chairman", a 68-year-old businessman, Abdul Nasir Saani, alias Bunas, 44, a businessman, and Alhaji Mustapha Zakaria, alias Inshaa Allah, 61, also a businessman. The pleasure of this regional delegates conference amid the competition has brought some sense of dynamism and hope into the party in the region.
It will be extremely close since all the candidates have really worked hard in their campaigns.
Voting trends
Regarding voting trends, ethnic and religious considerations would play a huge role in how the delegates vote. In the end, who the delegates trust and think can manage the affairs of the region better will win the polls. The race is too close to be predicted and anything can happen today.
Feverish preparations
Meanwhile, all the five regional candidates have criss-crossed the 11 constituencies in the region to get the 134 delegates in battle-ready for votes. The various campaigns went on peacefully.
According to Alhaji Malik, his decisions had been informed by the numerous calls on him to continue with the good works he had been doing since 1992 as the regional chairman.
For Mr Song-Aabo, his decision to join the regional chairman contest was because he felt he was the most eligible candidate to lead the party in the region for the 2016 polls.
Another candidate, Alhaji Natonah, a calm and affable aspirant, said he got his alias "Double Chairman" because he was once the unopposed chairman of both the Nadowli North and Nadowli South constituency branches of the NDC party from 1992 to 2001.
Mr Natonah said due to his charisma and ability to draw crowds, he had lent his services to the party whenever he was needed.
Alhaji Zakaria said his name "Inshaa Allah" had become synonymous with the party in the region due to his activities over the years. He said since he became a card-bearer in 1992, he had offered both physical and financial support to the party. He said he also organised fund-raising rallies for the party and through his efforts, obtained a house to accommodate the Upper West Regional (UWR) Secretariat of the party. And apart from that, he had acquired a plot of land to construct a new regional secretariat for the party. Thus, when given the chance, he would work tirelessly to lead the crusade to ensure victory for the party.
Campaigning on the theme " Unity, Progress and Development", Mr Nasir Saani, alias Bunas, said he had played a positive role in the affairs of the party over the years.
