Accra, April 9, GNA - The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Friday failed to elect a Presiding Member (PM), after none of the two contestants got the required 93 votes to be declared the winner from the 400-member assembly.

During the voting only 128 assembly members were present to exercise their franchise, making a clear winner very difficult. The two people who contested were Mr Desmond Addo Biney, who was the incumbent PM and an Accountant got 76 votes while his rival, Mr Daniel Ashiaku Akushie, a retired banker, puling 52 votes.

Nii Armah Ashietey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, lauded the role o= f the assembly in the democratic dispensation of the country and urged the members to work closely with the AMA for the betterment of the people of Accra.

He appealed to the members to bury their political differences and wor= k for the good of those who voted them into power. He asked them to assist the AMA in revenue generation and not always depend on the District Assemblies' Common Fund.

Mr. Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Local Governmen= t and Rural Development, praised the AMA for initiatives such as the abolitio= n of the school shift system and the decongestion exercises. "I will urge you to work harder to consolidate what you have already started", he said. Mr Afriyie-Ankrah, asked the assembly to put in place the needed measures to curb the cholera outbreak in the city.