Gomoa Afranse (C/R), July 21, GNA - For a second time, the newly created Gomoa East District Assembly last Friday failed to approve the President's nominee, Mr Mark Jewel Annan, for the position of District Chief Executive for the area.

Two weeks ago, there was a deadlock in the approval of the nominee, resulting in the postponement of the vote to last Friday. The Assembly, however, elected Prince Charles Abbam, a private businessman as Presiding Member of the Assembly at Gomoa Afranse. Mr Abbam won in a third round of voting after his sole challenger Mr Hakeem Bright Anyan, a teacher and Assembly member for Gomoa Asebu, stepped down for him.

Two previous elections failed to produce a winner as none of the two constants got the required votes, although Mr Abbam had more ballots.

A total of 29 members voted in the poll, supervised by Mr Siribour Quaicoo, deputy Central Regional Electoral Officer. Mr Abbam, who is Assembly Member for Gomoa Dominase, expressed gratitude to Mr. Anyan for stepping down for him. He was later sworn into office by Mr Nathaniel Nicholas Nimako, Circuit Court Judge at Dawurampong. In his remarks, Nana Ato Arthur, Regional Minister, said the repeated deadlock in the vote for the DCE, as well as the two earlier Presiding Member elections, proved that much work needed to be done to sustain unity in the district. He urged them to work as a team and not as individuals.