COKA floors Kokofu to win NPP Ashanti Regional chairmanship

Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as COKA, has won the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional chairmanship election after securing a decisive victory in the August 15 regional contest.

COKA polled 658 votes to emerge as the winner of the keenly contested race, defeating Dr Henry Kwabena Kokofu, a former Member of Parliament for Bantama and former Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who secured 269 votes.

The wide margin between the two candidates gives COKA a strong mandate to lead the NPP's regional structures in the Ashanti Region, which remains the NPP's stronghold.

COKA had entered the contest with strong confidence in his chances of victory and had openly expressed his expectation of securing an overwhelming majority of the votes.

Ahead of the election, he was resolute about his prospects and indicated that he was expecting nothing below 90 percent of the votes.

His prediction reflected the confidence he had in his support base and the level of backing he believed he enjoyed among delegates across the Ashanti Region.

The Ashanti Regional chairmanship is regarded as one of the most influential positions within the NPP because of the region's importance to the party's political fortunes. The new chairman will therefore have a crucial role to play in ensuring unity, mobilisation and effective coordination among party members.

Dr Henry Kwabena Kokofu, despite his previous experience as a legislator and his former role as EPA chief executive, could only manage 269 votes in the contest.