John Dumelo, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Ayawaso West-Wuogon constituency, has unseated sitting Member of Parliament, Lydia Seyram Alhassan in a closely watch rematch.
The contest attracted national attention as many poll watchers tipped it as too close to call.
Mr. Dumelo will make it to the 9th Parliament after failing to get into the 8th in 2020.
The former actor was flanked by his wife and jubilant supporters at the collation centre of the constituency as the returning officer declared him MP-elect. He grew emotional as chants of victory by party faithful reverberated from across all corners of the room.
Mr. Dumelo obtained 40, 561 of the votes cast. His political rival, Ms. Alhassan on the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) ticket got 27,377. The Independent Candidate, Abdul Rauf Abugri Mumuni, earned 189 votes.
During the special voting exercise last Monday, the race took a dramatic when the NDC led by John Dumelo, who was present at the centre, accused Ms. Lydia Alhassan and her team of sharing items to induce votes.
He subsequently reported the matter to the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) for further probe.
“My team also gave material information on plots by Ms Lydia Seyram Alhassan to unlawfully influence voters on a larger scale come Saturday, December 7, 2024, when the main election will be held. We expect the OSP to take immediate and decisive steps to not only prevent Ms Lydia Seyram Alhassan from repeating the unlawful behaviour but also to bring her and all her accomplices to book, Mr. Dumelo wrote in a Facebook post.
On her part, Ms. Alhassan denied sharing items to influence voters to cast their ballot in her favour.
“I wasn’t here. I don’t know if you saw me here. I’ve been here since. I came here before 6 am, and I left here a few minutes ago. I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she said in a video that has widely been shared on social media.
The initial contest between the two candidates ended in defeat for John Dumelo who was attempting a parliamentary contest for the first time.
He sought his party’s nomination again, emerging victorious after his fellow contenders withdrew from the race.
