A look at the most closely contested constituencies in Ghana’s electoral history

Ghana’s electoral history has witnessed several closely contested parliamentary elections where the margin between the winner and the losing candidate was very small.

In many cases, floating voters in these constituencies played an important role in determining the winner of the polls.

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Some of these constituencies have earned a place in Ghana’s political history and become areas that attract attention during every election season because of how keen the contests were.

Tain Constituency

In the 2016 parliamentary election, the Tain Constituency recorded a closely contested race between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Gabriel Osei, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Kwasi Agyemang Gyan Tutu.

The NPP won with 14,598 votes, representing 45.66%, while the NDC polled 14,528 votes, representing 45.54%.

The difference between the two candidates was just 70 votes, making it one of the closely contested parliamentary races in that election.

Ahanta West Constituency

The Ahanta West Constituency also recorded a relatively close contest in the 2020 parliamentary election.

NPP’s Ebenezer Kojo Kum won with 27,946 votes, representing 51.60%, while the NDC’s Dr Emmanuel Okumi Andoh followed with 23,957 votes, representing 44.24%.

Essikado-Ketan Constituency

In Essikado-Ketan, the 2020 parliamentary election produced another close contest.

NPP’s Joe Ghartey won with 26,701 votes, representing 51.49%, while the NDC’s Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah polled 24,527 votes, representing 47.30%.

The result gave the NPP a relatively narrow lead over the NDC.

Shama Constituency

The Shama Constituency was also among the constituencies that recorded a close parliamentary contest in 2020.

NPP’s Samuel Erickson Abakah won with 22,774 votes, while the NDC’s Gabriel Kodwo Essilfie followed with 19,674 votes.

Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constotuency

Tarkwa-Nsuaem recorded one of the narrowest parliamentary victories in 2020 with a 1% margin.

NPP’s George Mireku Duker secured 31,946 votes, while the NDC candidate polled 31,845 votes.

The difference was just 101 votes, making it a particularly close contest.

Amenfi West, Cape Coast North and Cape Coast South Constituencies

Other constituencies that recorded relatively narrow parliamentary victories in 2020 included Amenfi West, which had about a 4% margin, while Cape Coast North and Cape Coast South recorded margins of about 3%.

These results show how small differences in votes can determine the outcome of parliamentary elections in Ghana, particularly in constituencies where the two major political parties have strong support.

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Banda Constituency

NDC’s Ahmed Ibrahim won a closely contested race against his NPP opponent, Joe Danquah, polling 8,277 votes, representing 50.25%, while the NPP candidate secured 8,195 votes, representing 49.75%. The margin was just 82 votes.

Other constituencies are Pusiga, Savelugu, Ablekuma Central, Sene West, Gomoa East.

MAG/VPO

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