US embassy cable - 04ACCRA1396

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