Kumasi, May 29, GNA – Incumbent Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Wontumi, has been retained after a fiercely contested election at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
He polled 464 votes to beat his closest contender, Odeneho Chairman Kwaku Appiah (COKA) who garnered 306 votes; with Asare Bediako, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi and Oheneba Adum Bawuah polling 20, 9 and 3 votes respectively.
With a difference of 158 votes between the two frontrunners, one may conclude that it was an easy ride for the incumbent, but events leading to the declaration of the winner were full of controversies, drama, chaos and confusion.
Even before the stadium was opened for delegates, supporters of the two leading candidates were seen embroiled in series of heated arguments, setting the tone for an acrimonious election.
As delegates took their seats in anticipation of voting to begin, a misunderstanding over the album generated a tense atmosphere, that delayed voting for over two hours.
The Election Committee of the party, headed by the Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah however resolved the issue, paving way for the voting to commence at about 1130 hours.
Then came the eligibility of Fomena and Obuasi West delegates to vote as COKA and his team raised an objection about their participation.
They argued that there were court injunctions restraining delegates from the two constituencies from voting and vowed not to allow them to vote.
Supporters of Wontumi would however have none of that as they insisted on those delegates exercising their franchise, resulting in a standoff between the two opposing camps.
Eventually, delegates from the two constituencies were disallowed from voting after the Electoral Commission (EC) said they could not supervise the affected delegates to vote to avoid being charged with contempt of court since they had been served.
When the media and other observers thought they had seen enough drama for one day after the resolution of the that issue, the voting rights of the delegates of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) became another bone of contention between the two camps.
Team COKA once again rejected the album of TESCON, claiming that most of the names in the album were smuggled in to give advantage to Wontumi.
After several minutes of misunderstanding, the EC began counting the ballots when it became obvious the impasse could not be resolved anytime soon.
Spontaneous jubilation from the camp of Wontumi erupted the stadium when they picked signals that Wontumi was winning the election even before the EC officially announced the results.
They held Chairman Wontumi shoulder high as they sang and danced to loud music to celebrate a hard-won victory.
In other results, Kwabena Senkyire lost the First Vice Chairmanship position to Patrick Acheampong who polled 358 votes as against 342 for Senkyire.
Nana Ama Ampomah, the incumbent Women Organiser however retained her position after polling 419 votes to beat Beatrice Owusu who had 344 votes with Adwoa Konadu securing 34 votes.
The incumbent Secretary, Mr. Kwaku Adom Appiah narrowly escaped defeat after polling 411 votes against 390 garnered by Nelson Owusu Ansah, his only contender.
GNA