GIMPA to Observe Asawase Bye-Election

Accra, April 19,GNA - The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) is to send a four-member observer team to monitor the conduct of the Asawase Bye-Election scheduled for Thursday April 21.

Professor Yaw Agyeman-Badu, Acting Rector of GIMPA, who announced this on Tuesday in Accra, said the measure was part of the Institute's efforts to ensure "that every election organized in this country is free and fair".

Briefing Journalists at a press conference, Prof Agyeman-Badu said the Institute had started a process to establish a permanent world-class centre for election monitoring and observation in Ghana. The four-member observer team is made up of Mr Sampang Mensah and Mr Owusu Nantwi, both Lecturers, Mr Ampem Darko, a Consultant and Mr Richard Kelly, Student, all of GIMPA.

"Elections have become a permanent feature of our democratic governance and its just logical that we as a public Institution, continue to be engaged in this process hence our involvement in observing the bye-election."

Prof Agyeman-Badu said the observer team had obtained the necessary accreditation from the Chairman of the Electoral Commission and "we are confident that an excellent job would be done which will ultimately produce a credible report" he said.

He said the Institute would have an Anchor team at their office to receive reports from the Constituency He said GIMPA would come out with its interim report on the conduct of the elections by Friday afternoon.

The Mr Ibrahim Mohammed Issaka of People's National Convention (PNC), Alhaji Shaibu Musah Shariff of New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak Mohammed of National Democratic Congress (NDC) are contesting the bye-election, necessitated by the death of Dr Gibril Amamu, NDC Member of Parliamentary for the Constituency in February 2005.

The Parliamentary results of Election 2004 were: Thomas Tangwanse of People's National Convention (PNC), 1,598 votes; Patricia Appiagyei of New Patriotic Party (NPP), 29,067 votes; Dr Gibril of National Democratic Congress (NDC), 33,541 votes; King Hassan Abu-Bong of Convention People's Party (CPP), 570 votes; Adam Diywo Rahman of Democratic People's Party (DPP), 204 votes and Abdul Majeed Alhassan an Independent Candidate, 2,505 votes.