Loss of Kumbungu Constituency is warning to Mahama – Kwesi Pratt

The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper has attributed the defeat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in the Kumbungu parliamentary by-election on Tuesday, to the failure of government and the governing party to read the signs on the wall.

According to Kwesi Pratt Jnr, the decision by the government to second Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, who was the NDC MP, to be ECOWAS-ACP General Secretary was a “major mistake” and it is, therefore, not surprising that the party has lost one of its seats in parliament.

According to Mr Pratt, who was speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show of Thursday May 2, 2013, the rejection of the NDC candidate was a reflection of the displeasure of the people of Kumbungu about government’s decision to replace their chosen son, Mumuni, with a candidate they had earlier rejected at the primary.

The veteran journalist said the government’s move was a main miscalculation, coming just four months after the 2012 elections and especially given the constitutional provision of appointing fifty per cent of Ministers from parliament.

Ministers, he pointed out, are usually, not in parliament and sometimes are sent out of Ghana on official business and may, therefore, not be available to help pass crucial legislation to further government’s agenda.

Kwesi Pratt Jnr, who describes himself as a true Nkrumaist of the CPP stock, cautioned the leadership and rank and file of the CPP in Kumbungu to brace them selves up for a main battle in the next election, as the NDC would do everything in its power to win the seat back.

Nevertheless, Mr Pratt admonished the NDC and government to consider all the ramifications of their future actions.

The Kumbungu seat became vacant following the appointment of then NDC MP, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni as the Secretary-General of the ECOWAS-African, Caribbean and Pacific secretariat.

However, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) candidate who went into the election as an underdog was pronounced the winner by the Electoral Commission.

Mr. Amadu Moses Yahaya polled 13,029 of the total vote cast to beat his closest contender, Alhaji Imoro Yakubu Kakpagu of the NDC who polled a little over 11,000 votes.

The Northern Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhaji Alhassan Imoro Issifu Umar has blamed internal wrangling and complacency for the party’s defeat in the Kumbungu by-elections Tuesday.

According to him, the party leadership in the region thought the election would be a cool chop and, therefore, failed to address the internal wrangling in the party.

The NDC Northern Regional Secretary also attributed the defeat to the refusal of some aggrieved party members to join the campaign which he claims gave their opponent the leeway to operate in the constituency.

The CPP now has one seat in Parliament after its Chairperson, Samia Nkrumah lost her Jomoro seat to the NDC in the 2012 election.