Ama Benyiwa 'Chavez' Throws in the Towel

She told Peace FM on Wednesday dawn that she did not intend to contest the results, since it was a forgone conclusion that she would lose her seat.

She accused the chiefs of the area of stabbing her in the back by asking the electorate to vote for her opponent because they did not want to jeorpardise the electrification project the government was embarking on in the area.

"I have served my people for 12 years. I cannot do everything. So I think it is time to consider doing something else", she told Peace FM.

Ama Chavez will be fondly remembered for her hearted contributions to political debate in and outside parliament. Radio listeners particulary will miss her badly for her views on air, especially her spirited defence of the legacy of the PNDC and NDC. She will be particularly remembered for an incident in the studios of Adom FM in Tema, when she flared up during an argument and punched Baby Ansabah of the Daily Guide for debunking her argument. For that, she earned an unenviable title as Ama 'Chavez', named after Julio Chavez, the greatest all time WBC middleweight champion from Mexico.

NPP breaks new ground in Volta and Upper West Regions

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has finally made some forays into the Volta Region. Certified results from the Volta Region at press time showed that the NPP had won the Nkwanta North seat.

Unlike previous elections, this time, NPP's presidential candidate also had some appreciable number of votes from the region. Whereas the party recorded as low as 20 votes in some constituencies in the region, this time round, figures like 3,000, 1000, 5000 etc were recorded in some constituencies. Overall it was expected that the NPP would take 15% of the popular vote in the Volta Region.

As was expected, the party's overall performance remained very low. Rashid Bawa, Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports lost his Akan seat to an NDC candidate. Bawa won the seat as an independent candidate but lost it this year when he contested on the ticket of the NPP.

Another major setback for the NPP in the region was the inability of the party's candidates in Ho West and Biakoye to win their seats as had been predicted. Miss Elisabeth Ohene, Minister for Tertiary Education and Kwesi Owusu Yeboah, Volta Regional Minister failed to snatch the seats from the incumbent NDC candidates.

In the Upper West Region, the NPP won the Wa West seat from incumbent Alhaji Salia of the NDC who held the seat since 1992. The people of Upper West owe everything to the NDC because it was the PNDC government of former president Jerry Rawlings that created the Upper West Region.