Mahama Ayariga commends people of Bawku(D/G, Friday, December 14, 2012. Page 18)

The Parliamentary candidate elect for the Bawku Central constituency in the Upper East Region, Mr Mahama Ayariga has commended the people of Bawku for the peaceful manner they went about the electioneering and the subsequent maintenance of law and order during the elections of December 7 and 8, 2012. He has also expressed appreciation to the security agencies for the role they played in maintaining the relatively peace prevailing in the area. Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Bawku, the Deputy Minister for Education who polled 24,071 as against his closest contender, Alhassan Haruna of the NPP, who garnered 19,082 votes, said for the area to go through such intense campaign period without recording any major incidence before and during the election was an indication that the people were ready to embrace peace, which was paramount for development. Bawku have had to over the past couple of years endure ethnic conflict. On several occasions, government, based on the advice of the Regional Security Council, has had to impose curfews at various periods in the town. Since May, 2010, males in the town have been prohibited from riding motorcycles, a major means of transport for the people. Only women and security personnel in uniform are permitted to ride. Even then, women riders are not permitted to pick male pillion riders. This measure is meant to curb situations where person with the use of motorcycles commit killings and violence and escape with ease on their motorcycles even before security personnel get to the crime scene. However, Mr Ayariga said he was optimistic that the peaceful manner in which the electioneering was held as well as the voting process carried out in which no major incidence was recorded was indicative Bawku was gradually on the road to recovery. He commended the electorate of the area for coming out in their numbers to vote and the patience they exercised even in the face of difficulties associated with the verification device which nearly disenfranchised many people, stressing that showed the commitment to entrench democracy. Mr Ayariga is making a re-entry into parliament. He was first elected MP in the 2004 general election after he defeated the then MP, the late Madam Hawa Yakubu. He however failed in his bid to get re-elected in the 2008 election when he lost the seat to Mr Adamu Dramani. Story by Benjamin Xornam Glover Writer’s email:benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh