Voting in the 2023 District Level Elections (DLE) to elect assembly and unit committee members is taking place across the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country.
The assembly members are to serve as the representatives of the communities while the unit committee members also help in mobilisation at the community level.
While incumbent assembly and unit committee members are calling on the electorate to turn out in their numbers to renew their mandate for more development, the new aspiring assembly and Unit committee members are bent on getting the mandate from the electorate.
KINGSLEY E.HOPE reports from the Ashanti Region, that the incumbent member for the Kumawu-Dadease Electoral Area in the Sekeyere Kumawu District, Kofi Adade, a senior radio and TV reporter in Kumasi said the community has benefited from him in terms of development and therefore has every reason to seek re-election.
Mr Adade is one of the 3,919 candidates contesting in the District-Level Elections in the Ashanti Region.
Out of the number, only 212 people, representing 5.4 per cent are females says the Ashanti Regional Director for the Electoral Commission, Benjamin Bannor Bio, as he expressed worry about the low female participation in the elections.
A journalist with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Nicholas Osei-Wusu, also known as Kwadwo Wusu who is contesting for the Assembly member position in the Nintin Electoral Area in the Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region said if given the nod, “I plan to seek extension of pipe borne water from Mampong or seek any other viable alternative reliable water sources to serve the people.”
From the Eastern Regional capital Koforidua, AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN reports that 2, 690 persons are jostling for seats in the various municipal and district assemblies in the region.
A total of 160 women representing 6.12 per cent have filed to contest 2, 530 men representing 93.88 per cent.
In the New Juaben South Municipality, 98 candidates are standing for the district assembly elections in 34 electoral areas. Nine out of the number are women.
In the New Juaben North Municipality, 60 candidates were vying for the position in 20 electoral areas out of which three of them are women.
For her part, Rebecca Oforiwaa Darko, a new aspirant standing for the Old Estate Electoral Area says he will create avenues to seek for loans for traders in her area to expand their businesses and ensure security in her area.
SAMUEL AGBEWODE reports from the Tapa-Alavanyo Electoral Area in the Biakoye District of the Oti Region that Mr Amos Boku who is seeking a comeback asked the electorates to vote massively for him to enable him to complete development projects he started eight years ago.
When voted in power today, he promises to institute a committee to re-visit the issue to retrieve the money for a hospital to be built at Tapa-Alavanyo to prevent people from travelling long distances on the Volta Lake to access quality healthcare at Tapa-Abotoase Clinic.
The aspiring assemblyman for Kpassa-East Electoral Area in the Nkwanta-North District capital, Mr Muniru Hadi said he had decided to stand for election because he was not impressed with the work of the past and present assemblymen in the area, therefore when voted for he would work hard to bring development to the people.
KEN AFEDZI reports from the port city of Tema 75 persons are contesting the DLEs in the Tema metropolis according to the Metropolitan Director of the EC, Manasseh Ofosuhene.
Three females, 72 males and one unopposed candidate and Joseph Amissah the incumbent Assembly member for Black Cat electoral area in Community 9 who is seeking a second term of office.
The Assembly Member for Low Cost electoral area in Community 9, Mr Joseph Korto and Presiding Member of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) says when voted for, he will fight for a structured budgetary allocations for assembly member.
From Bolgatanga, FRANCIS DABRE DABANG reports that a total of 949 contestants, comprising 924 males and 25 females are vying for assembly membership with 1,936 persons; comprising 1,780 males and 156 females longing for the position of Unit Committee Members in the region.
An Assembly Member aspirant for the Yakoti Electoral Area in the Nabdam District, Jonas Tobil Zure, says he is upbeat about victory in the election because the electorate had bought into his vision of prioritising the development of the youth in the Electoral Area.
In the Soe-Central Electoral Area in the Bolgatanga Municipality, David Adombila Aleriya, a staff nurse who is vying for the Assembly Member slot rallied the electorate to give him a resounding victory to restore the hopes and aspirations of natives in the area.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, reports from ANAJI WEST in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Constituency that the contest has been tagged by bookmakers as one of the keenest in the 2023 District Assembly Elections (DLE) in the Western Region.
Five candidates are battling the incumbent- John Equan Sampson Davis, a 50-year old accountant.
They are Victor Danso, 30, electrician; Joseph Anhwer, 31, electrician; Joseph Bismark Acquah, 55, carpenter; Shirley Sharon Aggrey-Fynn 53, teacher and Albert Kwamina Howard, 36, administrator.
In the Lartebiokorshie Electoral Area, in the Ablekuma Central Municipality, 13 people are vying for only five seats as Unit Committee Members with incumbent Wahab Muntari also known as Mootiger is seeking re-election while David Abbey is contesting him on the same seat.
Muntari has his slogan as “More Action Less Talk”, with Mr Abbey’s slogan as “Together We Build Our Society.”
