The Dispatch in a front page story on the bye-election at Ablekuma Central in Accra, says Ghanaians will know the new Member of Parliament for the constituency by 19.30 GMT on Friday, March 26. The paper names the candidates as: Ismail Bawa (NDC), Victor Okulley Nortey (NPP), Hajia Fati Suraju (Convention Party), Solomon Bayugo Sulemani (Independent), who is backed by the Reform Movement, and Musah Nartey (PNC). The Dispatch says Ablekuma Central is one of the two constituencies in the Greater Accra Region (the otheris Ablekuma South), where the NDC’s Presidential candidate, President Jerry Rawlings won, with the party losing the Parliamentary seat, in the 1996 elections. According to the paper, Friday’s bye-election will be very tricky, as electorate throng the 106 polling stations in the five electoral areas to cast their votes. The Dispatch surmises that given the expected intense campaigning this week, it is hoped that there will be an improvement on the 1996 voter turn-out of 80 per cent, close to 90 per cent this time round, with about 80,000 valid votes cast.
