The Presiding Member (PM) for the ninth assembly has not been elected by the assembly members of Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality in the Western Region after a misunderstanding.
Nsuaem Zongo and Tarkwa Banso Electoral Area assembly members Mr. Prosper Agbeti and Mr. Joseph Kwofie, the candidates, did not receive the necessary two-thirds of the vote as required by the constitution.
Thirteen government appointees, the Municipal Chief Executive, and thirty elected assembly members—one of whom was absent—voted.
Mr. Kwofie received 27 votes at the end of the first round, whereas Mr. Agbeti received 15 votes and one ballot was rejected.
Mr. Kwofie received 28 votes in the second round, while Mr. Agbeti received 14 votes and one ballot was returned.
The orderly election was overseen by Mr. Ekow Essien, the Municipal Electoral Officer. The assembly members would be required to cast new ballots to choose a prime minister in ten days.
In his succinct words, Mr Benjamin Kessie, MCE, expressed disappointment and stated that the PM’s function was essential to ensure efficient local governance and decision-making within their assembly.
“The assembly has been inaugurated and the executive functions of the assembly are operating, so if anyone from our communities needs support and they come to the assembly we will do the needful.
The people must not suffer because you are not prepared to elect a PM, but we need you together to serve the people who sent you here. It is incumbent on you to let the system function for your own good, especially the new assembly members he indicated.
Mr Kessie appealed to the assembly members to prioritise the interest of the Municipality, while demonstrating their commitment to serve the good people of Tarkwa Nsuaem with dedication and diligence, adding “Our predecessors have laboured to bring us this far, it should not be our turn to take us back, so we are going forward”.
I trust that the next time we meet the election will be one of the smoothness of all that we have had so that we scale up the process and then continue to deliver on our core mandate,” said the MCE
The Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr Boffour Ahmed Haruna explained “There are documents we need to endorse and send to Accra that are going to be counted as far as our assessments are concerned, for now, they will still be on hold.”
