The elected Savelugu Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Hajia Fatahiya Abdul Aziz has called for unity in the party in the aftermath of Saturday’s primaries. Madam Fatahiya won the parliamentary primaries held on Saturday, December 2, 2023, with landslide victory.
She obtained 532 votes against her opponent, Muhamed Abdul Samed Gunu, a former Member of Parliament for Savelugu who also had 121 votes with 3 rejected ballots.
Prior to the polls, the Staffer at the Office of the President was already tipped as favorite to win the Savelugu primaries given the massive developmental projects she has brought to the constituency coupled with employment opportunities for the youth and her constant touch with the electorates.
The election was conducted and supervised by the Electoral Commission in a peaceful atmosphere amidst heavy police deployment.
Interacting with Journalists, Hajia Fatahiya noted the major task ahead is winning the Savelugu seat from the National Democratic Congress in the 2024 general elections and admonished the people to bury their differences.
“We must forgive one another and come together to rescue the seat from the NDC. This is not only my victory but a victory for every NPP member of Savelugu constituency and Hon Samed Gunu. We’re coming together to win the seat and break the 8 with Dr Mahamudu Bawumia” she stated.
The former Member of Parliament, Muhamed Abdul Samed Gunu, accepted the outcome of the elections and has since congratulated the elected candidate.
In her remarks, Hajia Fatahiya said, “I am happy but I am happy not because I was declared the winner but because my senior brother Hon Samed Gunu walked to me and congratulated me and my team and that shows he will be part of the campaign to recapture the seat from the NDC in 2024”.
Meanwhile, the governing NPP lost the Savelugu parliamentary seat in the 2020 general elections with about ninety nine votes while President Nana Akufo-Addo defeated former President Mahama in the presidential race.
The former New Patriotic Party MP, Samed Gunu, challenged the parliamentary results at the Tamale High Court, citing widespread electoral irregularities, malpractices and over voting among others and prayed the court to overturn the results.
The petition was subsequently dismissed by the court and the presiding Judge, Justice Daniel Obeng in his ruling said that the allegations raised by the petitioner were just administrative errors and did not affect the outcome of the polls.
