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The 2020 general election has been one of the most interesting so far. As the drama still unfolds, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has yet to accept the statement from the Electoral Commission (EC) of Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
However, parliamentary elections become a different game, as the possibility of a hung parliament attracts.
The EC’s verdict on the parliamentary side places the number of seats for the PNP at 137, while the NDC has 136, an independent candidate and a Sene West constituency yet to be declared.
However, parliamentary seats in the Northern Region have gone beyond contention, as the work of the winners is clearly cut short.
Since the beginning of the 4th republic, the NDC has dominated the region.
Here is a brief breakdown of how the major political parties have fared in parliamentary representation in the region since 1996.
1996 NPP 3-NDC 9; 2000 NPP 2 -NDC 12; 2004 NPP 4-NDC 12; 2008 NPP 3 – NDC 12; 2012 NPP 6 – NDC 11; 2016 NPP 9 – NDC 9; 2020 NPP 9-NDC 9.
In the region, both the NDC and the NPP won 9 seats each in this year’s elections. Although it was the trend in 2016, for a region with a history of NDC dominance, this year’s development changes the dynamics.
Many have discovered that two districts in this scheme of things have had a peculiar path, Gushegu and Karaga.
Hassan Tampuli of the NPP secured Gushegu’s seat with 30,373 against 28,059 of the NDC.
What is puzzling is that the executive director of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) entered the race with only five months to go on Election Day and was not given a chance.
There were also complaints that the incumbent and some party executives are following his campaign from some sectors.
However, he persevered through an intense campaign that allowed him to put up an admirable fight in the race for parliament.
Not only did he win the parliamentary seat, but he also boosted the president’s victory with 31,021 to John Mahama’s 26,414 votes in the constituency. In 2016, President Akufo-Addo won 21,048 (51.23%) while his closest contender, John Mahama, won 19,319 (47.02).
PNP presidential votes increased by a margin of 9,973 votes in the 2020 elections. This includes a record number of (more than 9,500) votes in Konkomba communities against (5,000) votes obtained in that area in 2016.
In Karaga, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam also made a name for himself with his performances. A former DCE under the Kufour administration, he changed the seat that has traditionally been held by the NDC, breaking the long-standing monopoly.
The 28,335 votes obtained by the Deputy Minister of Energy were enough to give him a decisive victory with a margin of almost 9,000 votes compared to 19,690 obtained by the NDC parliamentary candidate.
The 28,335 figure is a nearly 167 percent increase in NPP votes compared to the 10,798 votes recorded by the NPP parliamentary candidate in 2016.
Similarly, he garnered unprecedented votes for the president, Nana Akufo-Addo, who won in Karaga for the first time by a margin difference of 6,386 votes. Nana Akufo-Addo got 26,270 votes to John Mahama’s 19,884 votes.
Some have touted the verdict of the two as the anchor on which the PNP’s northern regional base is expected to stand. The two men, due to their record in government, will be a quality addition to Parliament and possibly new faces in President Akufo-Addo’s ministerial team.
Others, including the son of the late former Ghanaian Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Farouk Aliu Mahama, also won the Yendi parliamentary seat for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with 40,624 votes, while his main contender, Alhassan Abdul Fatawu Jofa from the opposition. NDC obtained 24,755 of the votes.
Defense Minister Dominic Nitiwul also retained his seat in the Bimbila constituency, while his colleague, Musah Abdul Aziz Ayaba, for the first time in 28 years, won Mion’s seat for the PNP.
He garnered 21,552 votes to beat his closest contender and incumbent MP, Abdul-Aziz Mohammed of the NDC, who had 14,158 votes.
In the Nanton constituency, Hardi Tuferu retained the seat for the NPP. Elsewhere in the Tolon constituency, PNP parliamentary candidate Habib Iddrisu stretched the PNP parliamentary vote gap from 1,057 in 2016 to 9,200 in this year’s polls, while President Nana Akufo-Addo beat John Mahama with a 6,900 vote difference compared to 300 votes in 2016..
NPP’s overall presidential performance in the northern region currently stands at 409,963 versus 476,550 for the NDC.
In 2016, the NDC had 389,132 votes, while the NPP had 286,868.
