The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced plans to establish campaign platforms for candidates running in the upcoming District Level elections in Nkoranza North, Nkoranza South, as well as other by-elections in different areas.
The platforms will be available from Friday, May 9 to Sunday, May 11, giving candidates the opportunity to present their plans to the electorate and engage with voters directly.
The initiative comes ahead of the District Level elections scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, 2025. The aim is to ensure candidates have a fair and open space to interact with the public, address any concerns, and share their vision for the district’s development.
According to the EC, one campaign platform will be set up in each electoral area and unit where elections will take place, ensuring that all candidates are provided equal opportunities to communicate their messages to voters.
In addition, the Commission has urged all candidates and their supporters to campaign peacefully and refrain from using intimidation, threats, or coercion to influence voter behavior.
The EC has made it clear that such practices are illegal and will not be tolerated.
This move by the EC is part of ongoing efforts to ensure a transparent and peaceful electoral process, allowing voters to make informed choices without undue pressure or influence.
Gunmen launched a deadly attack on travelers at Wulugu in the North East Region, killing three passengers and setting their bus ablaze.
The victims were part of a group traveling from Kumasi to Garu when their bus broke down near Wulugu.
While the driver went to Walewale to get spare parts, armed assailants stormed the location, torched the vehicle, and executed three passengers.
Upon receiving an emergency call, police officers arrived to find the lifeless bodies of three young men, estimated to be in their 20s.
Two were discovered lying in a pool of blood by the roadside, while the third was found roughly 200 meters away.
The bodies have been transported to the Bolgatanga Hospital morgue for autopsy and preservation as authorities work to identify their next of kin.
Two of the victims have been confirmed as Frafras, while the third, an Ashanti man, was traveling to Bolgatanga.
According to eyewitnesses, the sound of gunfire sent passengers fleeing towards Wulugu, but the attackers chased some of them down, leading to the casualties.
At the crime scene, police recovered four spent shells, believed to be from AK-47 rifles. Security personnel have since secured the area and ensured the safety of those who sought refuge in nearby homes.
Although the motive for the attack is still unclear, reports suggest it may be linked to the ongoing Bawku conflict, which has resulted in 49 deaths since October 2024.
The Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will obstruct parliamentary activities until the Ablekuma North Constituency is appropriately represented in Parliament.
The processing of results for the constituency has been suspended for the past month due to ongoing disputes regarding the election outcome. One such disagreement resulted in the destruction of property at the Electoral Commission’s regional office.
Speaking to party supporters during a visit to the NPP’s Parliamentary Candidate for Ablekuma North, Ekua Afriyie, Annoh-Dompreh declared that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would face unrest until the matter is settled.
“If the NDC, led by Mahama Ayariga, continues to deny that the NPP won the seat and distract the Electoral Commission’s process, they will never have peace in Parliament,” he said.
He further stated that if the Inspector General of Police (IGP) fails to hold accountable the NDC supporters from Ablekuma North who disrupted the collation process, the NPP members of Parliament will “persist with their demonstrations” to voice their dissatisfaction.
Annoh-Dompreh also set a seven-day ultimatum for the Electoral Commission (EC) to announce the winner for the constituency, underlining the need for a quick resolution.
“We are giving the EC one week; they must come and declare our candidate as the winner of the Ablekuma North election.”
In the meantime, both Ewurabena Aubyn of the NDC and Ekua Afriyie of the NPP have put up billboards asserting their victory in the contested election.
The ex-Member of Parliament for the Subin constituency, Eugene Boakye Antwi, has accused some party leaders, notably at the constituency and regional levels, of levying inflated fees for Senior High School placements.
He contended that these unscrupulous actions played a pivotal role in the party’s dismal performance during the 2024 general elections.
“The issue came up that people are selling the SHS placement, and people reported it on the MPs’ platform, but the minister said he needed evidence.
“This is not an allegation. In Assin North they were selling the SHS placement slot, the same thing happened, and their treasurer was sacked. They said he had taken over GH¢500,000… In Hon. Kennedy Agyapong’s constituency, it happened, and they sacked him,” he said.
Speaking on Oyerepa FM on January 20, 2025, he shared that the concern was brought up on parliamentary platforms and relayed to the then Minister of Education, Osei Yaw Adutwum, who demanded substantiated evidence before taking any measures.
He further asserted that a former constituency executive officer from Assin Central in the Central Region was ousted for reportedly amassing over GH¢500,000 through fraudulent Senior High School placement dealings.
“People were like, ‘Why should I vote for you to come to power, and if my child needs placement, I have to pay GH¢5,000?’ Before I became an MP in Subin, people were taking money, and I swore to end such things. Ask my constituency executives. I don’t know why a constituency officer and regional officer would sell slots to people.”
The northern part of Ghana has drawn to itself significant attention as the country prepares for the next polls.
For the first time, the north is likely to have two of its sons lock horns to battle for the highest title of the land – the President.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) will be represented by former President John Dramani Mahama, who hails from Bole in the Savannah Region for the 2024 elections.
The ruling party, New Patriotic Party (NPP) is yet to elect its flagbearer but among those competing is Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, born in Tamale in the Northern Region. He is the only northern among the 10 competing for the flagbearer position.
Already, Speaker Alban Bagbin has informed Overlord of Gonja, Yagbonwura Bii-Kunutu Jewu Soale, at his residence in Damongo of the likelihood of two northerners comepting for the first time.
“This is the time that the two main parties in Ghana are both deciding that the flagbearers will be our sons from the North. What I plead with all of you is for us to accept our differences and see how we can come together to prepare to receive the development that is coming our way.”
Should that be the case, the question of the day becomes – How will the people of the north vote? This has become crucial as the NPP has a marginal advantage over the NDC with regards to the number of Parliamentary seats in the north.
But this has not always been the case.
In a documentary detailing Dr Bawumia’s candidature, Ghanaian broadcast journalist and the host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere, revealed that 15 years ago, the NDC dominated the number of northern Parliamentary seats but have now lost majority of the seats to the ruling party.
Findings of the documentary are as follows:
2008 elections
In 2008, the NDC led by late former President John Evans Atta Mills as flagbearer and John Mahama as his running mate secured 21 parliamentary seats in the north out of the total 26 seats.
The NPP led by current President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, his then running mate won 4 seats. The remaining seat was secured by an independent candidate.
2012 elections
The number of seats out for grabs were 31. Out of the total, the NDC secured 20 while the NPP won 10 seats.
The NDC lost one seat while the NPP won 6 more seats. During this period, the NPP were led by the same duo but the NDC was not. The NDC was now led by John Mahama as flagbearer following the demise of John Evans Atta Mills. Mr Mahama picked the late Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur as his running mate.
2016 elections
With the same number of seats for grabs, the NDC secured 18 and the NPP increased their seats to 13. Both parties were represented by the same candidates.
2020 elections
In 2020, the NPP managed to take the majority of parliamentary seats in the north by securing 16. The NDC picked up the remaining 15. Following the demise of Vice President Amissah-Arthur, Mr Mahama picked former Education Minister, Nana Jane Opoku Agyemang as his running mate.
Rationale
The NPP’s growth and NDC’s regression can be attributed to several factors such as government performance, performance of respective Member of Parliament with regards to development. However, the influence of whoever leads the party cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor.
Who takes it all?
Flagbearer hopeful, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has touted his optimism in widening the number of seats in the north for the NPP.
“They know John Mahama cannot take me on in the North. I will beat him in the North. This is why they don’t want me be to flagbearer,” he said to some NPP supporters over the weekend.
More than one million Americans and Canadians are facing Christmas Day without power as a massive winter storm continues to pummel North America.
A bomb cyclone, when atmospheric pressure plummets, has brought snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures.
Nearly 250 million are affected, and at least 19 deaths have been linked to the storm that extends more than 2,000 miles (3,200km) from Quebec to Texas.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled during the festive period.
The western US state of Montana is the worst hit by the cold, with temperatures dropping to -50F (-45C).
Near white-out conditions have been reported in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. In the city of Buffalo, New York state, the US National Weather Service (NWS) reported “zero mile” visibility.
In the Pacific Northwest, some residents ice-skated on frozen streets in Seattle and Portland.
Coastal flooding has been seen in America’s north-eastern New England region, inundating communities and downing power lines.
Image caption,This man in Minneapolis, Minnesota state, clearly struggled to clear a passage from heavy snowImage caption,This restaurant in Hamburg, New York state, was covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie wavesImage caption,In Canada, a number of motorists have had to abandon their vehicles in blizzards in the province of Ontario
Even the usually milder southern states of Florida and Georgia are experiencing hard-freeze warnings.
The only region that has largely been spared the cold weather is California where continental mountain ranges are helping to protect the Golden State.
In Canada, the provinces of Ontario and Quebec were bearing the brunt of the Arctic blast.
Much of the rest of the country, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, was under extreme cold and winter storm warnings.
A number of the storm-related fatalities have involved road traffic accidents, including a 50-car pile-up in Ohio that killed four motorists. Another four died in separate crashes in the state.
Travel problems across the country were being exacerbated by a shortage of snowplough operators, with low pay rates being blamed.
The NWS says more than 100 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken over the next few days.
The family of a woman in her 40s reported to have been arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video has confirmed the arrest.
A family member who spoke to GhanaWeb said that her relative is currently being held by the police at the headquarters of the Ghana Police Service.
The relative indicated that the name of the woman who has been arrested is Salamatu Mohammed, a mother of four who stays at Nyamekye Ward in the Ablekuma North Constituency.
She added that the police have not given them any reason as to why they arrested Salamatu and have also not told her family of the crime she is accused of.
“We are waiting on our lawyer. We have not heard anything from them (the police),” she said.
GhanaWeb’s earlier report indicated that Salamatu Mohammed was arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video.
In the said viral video, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, the woman, who was berating the president for the current economic conditions in the country, questioned why witches and ritualists from the northern parts of Ghana have not killed the president yet.
“Akufo-Addo we are begging you in the name of God, we cannot even afford pots to cook our food. Do you want us to use your head to cook?
“Now the price of an aluminium cooking pot has increased from 6 million (GH¢ 600) to 12 million (GH¢1200). Why?
“God will punish you. The witches in Ghana and the ritualist from the north can’t you kill this man… I have four children; do you know the feeding fees I pay? Do you know the feeding fee, I am going to pay today… Idiot,” she said in Twi.
Presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured the North that he would defeat the rag-tag army of bandits and end insecurity with modern technology if elected president in 2023.
Speaking at the Arewa Joint Committee Interactive session with Presidential Candidates holding at the Arewa House Kaduna on Monday, the former Governor of Lagos State eulogized the late Premier of defunct Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello Sardauna who he described as a reference point, saying together with Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tarawa Balewa, laid the solid foundation of a united Nigeria.
The Presidential hopeful who was accompanied to the event by some APC Governors of Northern extraction promised that his economic policies would among others, leverage Nigeria’s abundant solid mineral deposits and enhance the economic well-being of the nation.
He said he would use his experience in building human capital, industry and institutions which had made Lagos what it is today to make Nigeria a much better and developed country.
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Abu Jinapor has declared, in no uncertain terms, that he will support the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia when the “time comes, and he decides to run” for the flagbearership of the NPP.
Speaking in Kpalbe on Sunday, in the Savannah Region, during the visit of the Vice President, as part of his working visit to the North, Abu Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Damongo, said, in his view, the best person to lead the NPP to the 2024 elections if he decides to contest when the time comes is none, but Dr Bawumia.
“At this moment, considering many things, including his competence and hard work, there is no other person. When the time comes and His Excellency the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia decides to contest, I will support him fully and work hard together party stakeholders in the Savannah Region for his hard work, and competence.” Abu Jinapor said.
The Lands and Natural Resources Minister noted further that the 2024 Election won’t be an easy battle and for the NPP to retain power, the party needs someone like Dr. Bawumua, who will be widely accepted and can effectively communicate everything the government and the party have done.
“Dr Bawumia has served with humility and honour and I can say without a doubt that, he has Savannah, the north and Ghana at heart,” Abu Jinapor noted.
The Vice President resumed his working tour of the northern regions on Sunday in the Savannah Region.
As part of his programme, he paid courtesy calls on traditional rulers, and inspected government projects, including the Agenda 111 District Hospital in Kpalbe and the ongoing works on the Fufulso-Bunjai Road, before commissioning a market complex in Salaga.
Part of the Vice President’s delegation are; Minister of Interior Ambrose Dery, Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul, Presidential Advisor on Health Dr. Nsia Asare, and Former Chief Whip Frederick Opare Ansah.
