Kadjebi (O/R), May 10, GNA – The 54-member Kadjebi District Assembly in the Oti Region, has failed to elect a new Presiding Member (PM) after two separate voting exercises.
In the first round of the polls, Mr Noah Kwame Wadja a government appointee and contestant, garnered 31 votes out of 54 votes cast while Mr Philip Obornie, Assemblyman for Dodo- Amanfrom North Electoral Area, secured 20 votes with two rejected votes.
By this, neither of the two candidates secured the two-third mandate to be elected.
Mr Justice Odame-Frimpong, the Kadjebi District Electoral Officer said since none had gotten the required number, it called for another polls within ten days starting from the day the first election was held.
The house, therefore, agreed to hold the second round of voting in a desperate move to complete the exercise.
During the second round of voting, Mr Noah Kwame Wadja, polled 32 votes, representing 59.2 per cent, while his contender polled 21 votes, representing 38.8 per cent.
By this development, the two candidates still failed to get the two-third mandate to assume the PM position.
Mr Alhassan Sulemana, the Secretary to the Assembly before the polls, appealed to the assembly members to build consensus since the local government system hinges on that.
Mr Wadja, a contestant, urged his colleagues to vote for him to help move the assembly forward because development was a shared responsibility.
Mr Philip Obornie called on the assembly members to vote for him to revive the dormant Area Councils to help generate enough Internally- Generated Fund (IGF) for the development of the district.
The voting exercise would be restaged after 10 days to elect the PM.
GNA