Kumasi Goes Dead

THE ASHANTI Region, described as the stronghold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), went dead yesterday following the overwhelming victory of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the just-ended presidential and parliamentary elections.

Kumasi, the boisterous capital of the region, has since Saturday evening when the counting of ballots and declaration of provisional results at the polling stations began, been quiet with no major business or socio-cultural activities.

NPP supporters’ suspicion of the party losing the elections came to fruition when 15 hours after the close of the polls, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, Presidential Candidate of the NPP, conceded defeat to John Dramani Mahama, Presidential Candidate of the NDC, at a news conference in Accra, today.

This, the NPP Presidential Candidate did, even before the Electoral Commission (EC) could finish collating and declaring both the presidential and parliamentary results.

Wild jubilations erupted in major towns and villages of the Ashanti Region immediately after Dr. Bawumia had accepted defeat and congratulated the President-elect, John Mahama, on his election.

In Kumasi, NDC supporters both men and women dressed in party T-shirts and brandishing party flags and other paraphernalia took to the principal streets to celebrate their victory with drivers and motor riders tooting their horns.

Interestingly, however, the street jubilations lasted a few hours, returning the city to utter silence especially at areas dominated by NPP supporters.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the NPP has lost some of its parliamentary seats in the region to the NDC and independent candidates.

NPP’s longest serving MP for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahir Hammond, who bagged 13, 275 votes lost to NDC’s Godwin Animli Dorgbadzi-Dorani who secured 14,229 votes.

In Asante Akyem North, the NPP candidate, Andy Appiah Kubi, lost to an Independent Candidate, Ohene Kwame Frimpong, after getting 8,933 and 26,926 votes respectively.

However, DGN Online learned that some thugs suspected to be NDC supporters had allegedly attacked EC officials at Mankranso, Tepa, and Obuasi thereby making it difficult for them to work.

That reportedly caused EC officials to slow down in declaring the results at the regional Collation Centre in Kumasi.

Earlier, NPP Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boansiako aka Wontumi, had appealed to party supporters to remain calm, assuring them that all hope was not lost.

FROM James Quansah, Kumasi

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