The race for the Tamale South parliamentary seat is heating up, as four new candidates step forward to challenge the long-serving incumbent, Haruna Iddrisu.
After two decades in Parliament, the former Minority Leader is seeking his sixth consecutive term representing this constituency.
The Tamale South constituency, a stronghold for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has consistently supported the party over the past 20 years.
Bordered by Tamale Central, Tamale North, Tolon, and Central Gonja, the constituency has repeatedly shown loyalty to the NDC, as data from the Channel One Research Unit shows.
Haruna Iddrisu, who has held the seat since 2004, has continually outperformed his opponents. In 2008, Haruna Iddrisu won with 27,366 votes (57.35%), while his closest contender, NPP’s Seidu Naa Salifu Be-Awuribe, garnered 14,329 votes (30.03%).
In 2012, Iddrisu expanded his lead with 50,063 votes (74.6%), as the NPP’s Abdulai Yushawu Sulemana captured 12,079 votes (18%).
In 2020, he secured 69,787 votes (over 79% of the total), while the New Patriotic Party (NPP) garnered just 17,687 votes (20%).
The NPP’s vote share has historically remained under 30%.
This year, Iddrisu faces four opponents, including the NPP candidate, Independent candidate Yahaya Haashimiyu, and two others from the People’s National Convention (PNC) and Convention People’s Party (CPP).
Key Players
Incumbent Haruna Iddrisu of the NDC
Fuseini Musah of the NPP
Kassim Abdul Jalilu of the CPP
Sualisu Imoro Nabila of the PNC
Independent candidate Haashimiyu Yahaya
As the 2024 elections approach, candidates in Tamale South are actively sharing their visions with constituents.
The Deputy Organizer of the NDC in Tamale South, Fuseini Abdul Latif, expressed confidence that Haruna Iddrisu will retain the seat, stating that he remains unbeatable.
“Come to talk about women empowerment, support for women, he does it, he’s always with the people and he likes women and in fact he doesn’t even want women to suffer. So he is always supporting the women with small loans to do their small businesses. And you know women that is what they like because they own the family, so if you support the women it goes back to the family.
“So looking at this thing that I have mentioned, you can tell that is not Haruna himself saying he doesn’t want Tamale South, nobody can unseat Haruna Iddrisu. He is unbeatable and I believe that the people will vote for him.”
Meanwhile, Abu Mohammed, the Secretary to the NPP parliamentary candidate, is optimistic that Fuseini Musah of the NPP will emerge victorious on December 7.
“The people will vote based on development this time around, they don’t want an MP who will single out an individual to help, they want an MP who can help the entire community and the constituents as well such that the constituency will also look like others.
“But under the reigns of this current MP, it has not been so, if you compare Tamale South to other constituencies, Tamale South is lagging. So in fact, the people are not enthused about what they are seeing in the constituency.”
Independent candidate Yahaya Haashimiyu, a former NDC member, shared with Channel One TV that he believes the incumbent MP relies on the party’s name rather than his achievements.
According to Haashimiyu, Haruna Iddrisu has no significant track record of development in the constituency.
“In fact, the issue is not about the current MP, it’s about NDC. The people of Tamale South love the NDC and not the current MP, the MP is riding on the back of the NDC and not himself as a person because of the NDC. So if they put another person like myself on the ticket of NDC, I would’ve won the seat for NDC massively.
“The MP Is not doing anything for the constituency, I’m telling you I’ve been living in this constituency for several years, and he has not done anything. What can we point, what can we look at what he has done for the constituency if not government intervention, what has he done personally to empower the youth.”
Efforts to reach the PNC and CPP candidates were unsuccessful, as calls made to them went unanswered.
Over 90,000 registered voters in Tamale South are expected to head to the polls on December 7 to select their next representative in Parliament.
Some Tamale South constituents shared their views on the upcoming contest, reflecting a range of opinions about the potential outcome of the election.
A constituent Mohammed Soawii said, “There is always something that the sitting MP does, and it’s not development. When it comes to development he has done nothing. But it’s just that he plays certain politics that he is always good at, he will come to an area, and get the leaders let’s say Lamashegu for instance, there are some people who will talk and people will hear, that is the younger generation here.
“So when he comes, what he does best is to buy motorbikes (tricycles) for that particular person who will talk and Others will listen. But this time around those people are fed up and are calling for change.”
Iddrisu Mahay, another constituent, of Tamale South, stated, “The reason I won’t vote for the current MP is that the current MP has been the MP for 20 years and for me, he is not working for the constituency.
“His work does not correspond to the years he has been the MP, so I think that is the only reason why some of us want to change the MP and give the mandate to Alhaji Musah Fuseini.”
Asmawu Iddrisu said, “Truth is lawyer Haruna has been so helpful in my porridge business and I’ve been doing this to help my kids go to school.
“The help he offers is enormous so I will entreat everyone in this constituency to vote for lawyer Haruna so he can keep helping us with our businesses to enable us to support our children’s education.”
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