My 2016 defeat was a mistake – Avoka declares

Former Majority Leader in parliament and now parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the Zebilla constituency in the Upper East Region, Cletus Apul Avoka has declared a strong resolve to win back the parliamentary seat in the 2020 elections.

Mr. Cletus Avoka staged a comeback after losing the 2016 elections to New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) Frank Adongo Fuseini who currently doubles as the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister.

The decision by Hon. Avoka, the onetime Interior Minister and one of the longest serving Members of Parliament (MPs) in Ghana’s electoral history to join the parliamentary race again sent shocking waves across the region. For some critics and political watchers, serving for five terms as a Member of Parliament was enough for him to kiss goodbye.

In a victory speech delivered shortly after being declared winner in Saturday’s parliamentary primaries covered by MyNewsGh.com, Cletus Avoka vowed to reclaim the Zebilla seat, declaring it as a seat for no other party but the National Democratic Congress.

“There is still a lot of work ahead and we don’t need to celebrate because there is a lot of work ahead, we don’t need to rejoice but we need to work as a team so that come 2020, we will reclaim the parliamentary seat. The Zebilla constituency is for the NDC and not for the NPP or any other party,” he said.

He stressed that losing the 2016 election was a mistake which must be corrected in the next election noting that “what happened in 2016 was a mistake and by this victory we have sworn that we will not make that mistake again. From now onwards, the Zebilla seat shall belong to the National Democratic Congress”.

Hon Cletus Avoka first became Member of Parliament in 1993, except from 2004-2008 when he lost to Lawyer John Akparibo Ndebugre of the People’s National Congress (PNC). He made a comeback and reclaimed the seat in the 2008 elections and proceeded to win in the 2012 elections. He however lost the bid in 2016, making it his second defeat in the political history of the constituency.

He polled 406 votes in Saturday’s parliamentary primaries beating his closest contender who polled 336 votes.