The 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Salaga South Constituency, Hajia Zuweira Ibrahima, has assured electorates in her constituency of a transparent, dedicated and development-oriented leadership if voted into power.
She noted the prospects of the constituency do not lie with men alone, but with persons who have the development of the area at heart.
The first female candidate to contest the seat, Hajia Zuweira Ibrahima is optimistic she will lead the NDC to victory.
She noted the numerous challenges of the constituency have been left unattended to by the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP).
“If the MP had continued from where the NDC left off, we won’t be here. I will through the support of the good people of the constituency win and address most of the challenges.”
Hajia Zuweira called for a clean campaign devoid of name calling and malice as that can breach the peace of the constituency.
“There is life after politics and if we want to go the tangent of insults, then we have disappointed our people.”
She noted some challenges she encountered since joining the race.
She, however, called for unity among party faithfuls to be able to wrestle power from the NPP.
Background of the constituency
The Salaga South Constituency is the oldest constituency in the Savannah Region.
Salaga North Constituency was carved out of the then Salaga Constituency.
Created in 1992, the constituency has produced four Members of Parliament with each running two terms except the incumbent, Salifu Adam Braimah, who is still in his first term.
The constituency is noted for its swing nature since no MP has gone beyond two terms despite several efforts.
Though the NDC has been winning the Presidential slot since 1992, that cannot be said about the parliamentary.
But the opposition NDC has won the parliamentary seat more than the ruling NPP.
In 1992, Mr. Baba Braimah won the seat after the NPP boycotted the elections.
He retained the seat in 1996.
But in 2000, Boniface Abubakari Sadiqque, an independent candidate now MP for Madina and Minister of State at the Office of the Vice President, beat Mr. Baba Braimah, who was seeking reelection for the third time.
He retained the seat again in 2004, when he crossed carpet to contest on the ticket of the NPP, thus making him the first NPP candidate to win the seat.
However in 2008, Ibrahim Abubakari Dey, who contested on the ticket of the NDC, won the seat from Boniface, who was also seeking reelection for a third time.
Then came the 2012 elections.
The then Salaga Constituency was divided into two – Salaga South and Salaga North.
In 2012, Boniface Abubakari Sadiqque contested again on the ticket of NPP after losing to Ibrahim Dey but lost a second time to him.
In 2012, for instance, the NDC candidate polled a total of 17,393 votes to beat his opponent from the NPP, who pulled 15,138.
In 2016, luck eluded the NDC Candidate who was also seeking reelection for a third term.
The incumbent MP and Savannah Regional Minister contested on the ticket of the NPP to beat the then incumbent Ibrahim Abubakari Dey with 47 votes.
Mr. Adam Salifu Braimah polled 12, 707 votes while his opponent, Ibrahim Dey, pulled 12,660 votes.
The matter was, however, settled in court after the former contested the outcome of the elections and filed a case against the MP and the Electoral Commission at the Tamale High Court.
Judgement has since been given in favour of the incumbent MP.
The 2020 general election is not different.
With the over 51,000 registered voters currently on the EC’s provisional register, the NDC says it will win with 62 per cent.
The NDC has introduced a female candidate to compete with the incumbent MP, who is seeking a second term.
By Christopher Amoako|3news.com|Ghana