Tema, Nov. 21, GNA - After eight rounds of voting in
two separate sittings, the 80-member Tema Municipal
Assembly (TMA) on Tuesday failed again to elect a
Presiding Member because none of the two contestants
got the two-thirds majority of the votes cast as the
law required.
Despite a series of consultations in the fifth
rounds of voting on Tuesday both contestants, Mr
Seth Laryea Tetteh, a government appointee and Mr
Ibrahim Baidoo, an elected member of Nanmono
electoral area and the assembly members took
entrenched positions with a status quo voting
pattern.
A call on one of them to step down for the other did
not yield any results.
In all the voting for Tuesday, Mr Laryea Tetteh took
the lead with 42 against 32 of Mr Ibrahim in the
first round, in the second round Mr Ibrahim's votes
reduced by two votes while Mr Tetteh had 47 with two
rejects.
Since a contestant needed two thirds of the number
or 53 votes to become a winner the voting continued
until the eighth round when Mr Laryea Tetteh had 47
and his opponent 27, which was the voting pattern
through out the previous voting.
Later, tempers flared amidst tension in the House
and members took turns to either call for
adjournment or conduct fresh nominations as none of
the contestants was getting the nod.
But this did not materialize and not even the
intervention of the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr
David Quaye Annan reminding them that they were
accountable to the people and therefore should see
the need to vote a PM moved them to change their
stance.
Consequently, after lengthy deliberations the
election for the PM was adjourned indefinitely at
1530 hours at the sitting, which started at 1100
hrs.
During the three rounds of voting in the first
sitting on November 14, two other contestants Mrs
Gladys Naadu Tetteh, member for Sutsurunaa electoral
area and Mr Kingsley Kwame Appiah, Ottanor electoral
area stood down for the other two contestants.
GNA