Effutu Assembly fails to elect PM

Winneba, Oct. 7, GNA - The Effutu Municipal Assembly on Tuesday failed to elect a Presiding Member (PM) after two rounds of voting.

The contest was between Mr Kow Sekum, Assembly Member for Osakam-Fetteh, and Mr Charles Boakye, government appointee.

In all the two rounds of voting, none of the two candidates was able to obtain 18 votes, constituting two thirds, required to be elected.

Mr Boakye polled 13 votes in the first and second balloting, while Mr Sekum had 12 votes in each of the two ballots.

The Acting Co-ordinating Director of the Assembly, Mr Francis Owusu-Ansah, who is Secretary to the Assembly, therefore postponed the election indefinitely.

Earlier Mr Alexander Oworae, Winneba magistrate court judge swore in the Assembly and Unit Committee Members into office, after leading them to take the oaths of office, secrecy and allegiance.

The Central Regional Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Mr Semakor Fiadzo, read the President's inaugural address.

Mr Owusu-Ansah urged the Assembly members to conduct themselves with decorum and live above reproach.

There may be things you used to do, now you may not be able to do anymore, because they may not be compatible with the ethics of their present position as assembly members, he reminded them.

Mr Edward Nii Lantey-Vanderpuye, a deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development who graced the occasion, urged the Assembly members to eschew partisan politics in their deliberations.

Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Member of Parliament for Effutu, appealed to the members not to extend their political affiliations to the Assembly and also have the development of the area at heart.

GNA