Despite losing to his contender, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Monday’s elections, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for Tamale Central, Dr. Ibrahim Anyars, saw his votes appreciating as compared to figures in 2016.

Tamale Central, once considered an election hotspot, has been peaceful ever since Dr Ibrahim Anyars took over in 2016 as the NPP Parliamentary Candidate.

In the 2020 elections, the Constituency was calm throughout the election process from voting to the counting of ballots and results declaration.

After the counting, NDC’s Ibrahim Mohammed Murtala won the seat with 41,156 votes while Dr Anyars polled 33,699 votes.

In the presidential election, NDC’s John Dramani Mahama won with 45,206 votes while the NPP’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo polled 28,897 votes.

Political analysts have expressed worry in the vote difference between the NDC presidential and parliamentary candidates.

According to them, the vote difference is a clear indication that the constituents voted based on party symbols rather than the strength of the candidate.

On the other hand, they have indicated that the vote difference between Dr Anyars and Akufo-Addo shows that the power of NPP in the constituency was dependent on the candidate but not the party.

Meanwhile, youth of Tamale Central, in a post-election interview, have expressed worry in the seeming autopilot voting trend in the constituency.

“For the past 28 years, we have returned MP after MP with nothing to show in return for our mandate. The seven-point development agenda of NPP’s Dr Anyars was a timely need and it’s hard to believe that our people have gambled with our future,” one youth stressed.

In a statement on Facebook, Dr Anyars has congratulated his opponent, a former Deputy Trades Minister.

Dr Anyars was particularly happy about the level and atmosphere of peace in the constituency.

Below is the full statement

On Monday, December 7th, as I went round the various polling stations, I looked straight in the eyes of voters, and I saw the enthusiasm to exercise their civic rights.

I take satisfaction in the fact that we all gave our very best to the defining gathering of a peaceful election for our generation! The atmosphere of peace in the constituency is once again a demonstration of my commitment to peaceful elections. For the second time in the history of Tamale Central Constituency, we had a peaceful election.

Our party was hopeful that the constituency would choose a path of development, and rather feels disappointed at the outcome. The Tamale Central people have spoken, and we respect the democratic system.

To all party faithful, friends, family, colleagues, and many volunteers who came forward to assist with the campaign, I say a big thank you! Many of you spent precious time and resources contributing to the campaign, and I sincerely thank each of you.

I am deeply moved by the expression of confidence from all eighteen electoral areas, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To the elected candidate: Ibrahim Mutala Mohammed, I say Congratulations! To the other candidate, Abdul-Karim Mubarik from PNC, I thank you for participating in the democratic process.

May Allah bless us all.