Tamale, April 05, GNA - Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, Northern Regional Minister has commended Tamale Central Constituency electorates and candidates who contested the seat and their supporters for a peaceful and successful by-election.

"I wish to convey my appreciation to the people of Tamale Central Constituency particularly candidates who contested the seat and their supporters for making the whole exercise peaceful" he said in an interview with the GNA in Tamale on Wednesday.

He said the successful by-election in Tamale Central Constituency was a victory not only in the constituency but a victory to the whole Dagbon and people who thought violence would mar the elections had been proved wrong.

"At the best of my knowledge this is the most peaceful by-election I have witnessed and I entreat the people of Dagbon to use the peaceful nature of the elections and prove to the world that Dagbon is now peaceful," he said.

Alhaji Boniface also congratulated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Mr Inusah Fuseini for emerging as the new Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency and advised supporters of the NDC not to do anything during their jubilation to erase the image of the successful election.

The people of Tamale Central Constituency went to the polls on Tuesday April 4, to elect an MP following the resignation of Prof. Alhassan Wayo Seini from the NDC to join the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Prof. Seini contested again as an independent candidate alongside Mr Ahmed Abdul-Karim also as independent, Ms Rita Adams Rukaya, on the ticket of the Democratic People's Party (DPP), Mr Basharu Alhassan Daballi, on the ticket of the Convention People's Party (CPP) and Mr Fuseini for the NDC.

A total of 65,863 eligible voters were expected to cast their ballots in 83 polling centres while 800 security personnel were deployed to ensure violent free elections.

Mr Fuseini won the ticket of the NDC, with 29,081 votes representing 68.27 per cent of the total valid votes cast to beat Prof. Seini who polled 11,579 votes representing 27.18 per cent to take the second position while Mr Daballi of the CPP polled 1,365 representing 3.20 per cent.

Ms Rukaya of the DPP had 157 votes representing 0.3 per cent and Mr Abdul-Karim an independent candidate had 416 votes representing 0.98 per cent.

Mr Sylvester Kanyi, Northern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission described the elections as free, fair and peaceful. 05 April 06