As the battle for the Sissala East parliamentary seat heats up, and the giants dazzle the electorates with their mind-blowing campaign antics; the outcomes remain sketchy.
This is the description of the highly intense demeanor of constituents in the Sissala East Constituency of the Upper West Region.
Tipping the winner of the coveted seat this year in the area becomes tricky to point out as two giants Hon. Amidu Chinniah Issahaku a deputy Upper West Regional Minister and Mr. Mohammed Issah Bagtalia a philanthropist lock horns for superiority on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress respectively.
Hon. Amidu Chinniah Issahaku left no stone unturned riding on his deputy ministerial position during the NPP primaries in June 2020 to unseat the incumbent Hon. Ridwan Abass Dauda to represent the area on the ticket of the governing NPP.
Even though the Sissala East Seat has traditionally been a safe seat for the opposition National Democratic Congress, all efforts by the NPP to take over power paid off in 2016 as Ridwan Abass Dauda became the first Member of Parliament on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party since 1992.
Views about the chances of the deputy minister are split as some constituents have discounted his ability to retain the seat for the governing NPP, fearing that the shadows of the NDC’s historic dominance over the seat might play out against him.
On the other hand, his contender is reserved but enjoys some popularity in the area. He frequently undertakes philanthropic activities through a U.S. based Non-Governmental Organization called Virtue Foundation which supports healthcare by providing logistics and conducting free surgeries in Ghana and beyond.
This is a precise description of the man, Mr. Mohammed Issah Bataglia who is gunning for the seat on the ticket of the biggest opposition party for the first time.
Even though some might describe it as ‘mission impossible’, the People’s National Convention’s Lawyer Kanton Kassim Kingsley is also garnering support assiduously to give the party a jaw-dropping victory to clinch the seat from the Duo for the second time after Moses Dani Baah enjoyed the seat for two terms with the PNC.
Who wins the Sissala East seat in election 2020 becomes the biggest question among the inhabitants of the most popular maize producing constituency in the Upper West Region as we inch closer to December 7. Until then we continue to undertake our watchdog role as the media and leave everything on the hands of the electorates.
Meanwhile, the Sissala East constituency is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Sissala East is located in the Sissala East municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana with its capital in Tumu.
History of the seat in the constituency
Since 1992, the Sissala East Constituency has been occupied by multiple parties including the NDC, NPP and PNC, with the NDC enjoying the longest hold on the parliamentary seat.
Between 1992 and 2000 Alhaji Amidu Sulemana remained legislator for Sissala East.
He was succeeded by Hon. Moses Dani Baah, who annexed the seat on the ticket of the PNC in the year 2000 and held on for two terms
Alhassan Dubie Halutie and Sulemana Alijata of the NDC ruled from 2008-2016 respectively.
In the year 2016, the New Patriotic Party won the parliamentary elections for the first time with candidate Ridwan Abass Dauda
By Fatawu Bayaga
