RULING PARTY WINS SEVENTH BY-ELECTION

UNCLAS ACCRA 001396 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM GH SUBJECT: RULING PARTY WINS SEVENTH BY-ELECTION ¶1. (U) On June 29, the ruling party NPP candidate won a special by-election to fill a vacant seat in Ghana's 200-member Parliament, garnering 85 percent of the vote in a modest turnout. The principal opposition NDC did not field a candidate, and neither did most of Ghana's other parties (one independent and one small party candidate shared the remaining 15 percent of the vote). Considered a safe seat for the NPP, the other parties decided to save their resources for the national elections in December, when all Parliamentary seats will be contested. ¶2. (U) A full complement of Electoral Commission officers traveled from its Accra headquarters to oversee the by-election in Upper Denkyira in the Central Region, and security force presence was considerable. However, the election itself was uneventful. One bar to full participation did occur in an isolated corner of the constituency: upwards of 1000 women voters were unable to cast ballots. A traditional prohibition on women crossing a particular river on certain days meant they could not wade across to the voting booths located on the other side (this did not affect the final results). ¶3. (U) Comment. This is the NPP's seventh consecutive victory in mid-term by-elections for vacant seats. It has yet to lose one during President Kufuor's term in office. Results in Upper Denkyira were never in doubt, particularly after the NDC declined to contest. While the NPP can claim no great triumph here (it did increase its margin of victory from 2000),it will enter the December parliamentary elections with an unblemished record. End comment. Yates