THE rancour that surrounded the election of a substantive Presiding Member to steer the affairs of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly finally came to an end last Friday, when all the members voted unanimously for a 61 year old private medical practitioner to lead them.

Dr Edward Prempeh of St Edwards Clinic at Asafo. in Kumasi, who got the nod of the members, polled 80 votes out of the 81 cast and was immediately sworn into office by Justice Nii Kpakpo Abraham, a High Court Judge. Even though one of the ballot papers was cast in his favour, the Electoral Commissioner rejected it.

Ironically, it was very Rev. I. K. Twum and Mr Kwasi Senya, the two men who failed to win to get the nod of the members on two occasions who nominated Dr Prempeh when the electoral commissioner urged the members to file their nomination papers for the election.

Mr Moses C. Donkor supported them, and when it was announced that , Dr Prempeh had been nominated unopposed, by the previous contestants, the Prempeh Assembly Hall, where the election took place, erupted into a state of ecstasy with thunderous applause and whistling.

In his acceptance speech, Dr Prempeh, who attended Adisadel College and studied medicine at the University of Grenoble in France, commended Very Rev. Twum and Mr Senya for nominating him, and urged members to conduct themselves in a way that would foster unity of purpose, understanding and collectively among them to win the confidence of residents of the Kumasi Metropolis.

He also commended the members for the confidence reposed in him and pointed out that , the inability of the KMA to elect a Presiding Member had affected the operations of the assembly as members are unable to conduct any business to implement their programmes.

He said he stands for unity, cohesion and development and appealed to them to bury all their differences in the interest of the electorate who voted them into office.

Dr Prempeh said the present and future generations would have an axe to grind with the members if they fail to unite with a common purpose to initiate programmes that would restore the Kumasi Metropolis to its former glory as the Garden City of West Africa.

“Let us work very hard to be able to leave a legacy that would not only befit the status of the Kumasi Metropolis, but would also make it impossible for the present and future generations to question our commitment, selflessness, honesty and integrity”, he advised.

He gave, assurance to explore all avenues that would sustain the unity that prevailed during the election to ensure the smooth conduct of their business all the time.

He again gave the assurance to co-operate with the Metropolitan Chief Executive to make it possible for them to realise their vision and objectives to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Kumasi Metropolis.

Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, the MCE also commended members for uniting under a common purpose to elect a new presiding member.

He said with the new state of affairs, there is the need for members to eschew all forms of bitterness and chart a new path that would make it possible for them to tackle the numerous problems impeding the effective development of the Kumasi Metropolis.

“With this new development, the rancour that characterised the operations of the assembly should be a thing of the past, and it is my hope that, we would do well to unite for the common good of the residents in the metropolis in particular and Ghanaians as a whole”, he advised.