By Abebe Dawuni
Yendi (NR) July 23, GNA – The 44-member Assembly of Yendi Municipality on Tuesday failed to elect a Presiding Member after a fifth consecutive time.
During the first round of the election, Mr Yakubu Fuseini Assembly member for Kusheigu Electoral area polled 22 votes and Mr. Alhassan Inusah Assembly member for Balogu south polled 21 votes with one spoilt ballot.
None of them could get the two-thirds majority of 30 required votes.
They were to return within 10 days for the Assembly meeting again and to elect the presiding member but the Assembly decided that they should conduct the election once and for all.
However, the two candidates could not resolve their issues when they returned thereby brewing tension between their supporters.
With tension mounting at the community centre, the Electoral Commission who conducted the election had to leave.
The secretary of the Assembly Alhaji Mohammed Akalifa announced that the Assembly meeting was suspended until further notice due to the tension.
In his opening remarks, the Yendi Municipal Chief Executive Alhaji Hammed Abubakar Yussuf said it was the four times they were meeting to elect a presiding member and it was the fifth time they were meeting again for the election, and they had lost a lot without a Presiding member to organise Assembly meetings.
He said without a Presiding Member, they could not prepare the budget for the Assembly and pass the District Performance Assessment Tool (DPAT) and no Action Plan which was going to affect the Assembly since the year was getting to an end.
Alhaji Hammed reminded them that the Assembly was non-partisan and he did not know why it was like that in the Assembly and called for unity to elect a presiding member.
He said he was left with five months to end his term and was ready to work with any Assembly member they elect as Presiding Member.
GNA