With a pledge to unite the party and restore its declining fortunes in the parliamentary elections in the area, Haruna Musah Kalamulai was confident that delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Pusiga Constituency would elect him as the party’s parliamentary candidate.
However, he was given the shock of his life when votes were counted after the close of polls on May 13, 2023.
Out of the 854 valid votes cast, Mr. Musah Kalamulai obtained a paltry 46 votes as against 432 and 356 polled by Ayamba Laadi Ayii and George Banbilla Azunga respectively.
He only managed to beat one other contestant, Patrick George Ayande, who secured less than 3 percent of the valid votes cast.
Speaking in an interview on Breakfast Today weeks after the polls, Mr. Musah Kalamulai described his poor showing in the primaries as a big blow.
“It was actually unfortunate. I wasn’t expecting that results. It was a big blow. But at the end of the day, we have to accept the verdict of the people”.
He said he was the only candidate with a good campaign message going into the elections and had hoped that his message coupled with the fact he is youthful would appeal to delegates to give him the party’s ticket.
But that was far from happening, leaving in shock.
“Among all the candidates nobody was going in with a message except me. Nobody had a message except me. I had several policies, almost 7 policies. And as I said, I was born and bred there. I know the people, I know their needs, I have studied their needs a lot and what I was bringing was going to help the constituency”.
He added, “Unfortunately, they didn’t see it that way. They thought that it wasn’t my time yet. They felt they haven’t done with the incumbent yet and they need to be done with her before they can come to my side and so that’s what happened”.
He is, however, hopeful of winning the ticket in the near future as he said the delegates felt it was not yet his time.
He also expressed his confidence in the incumbent MP, who retained the ticket, to secure another victory for the NDC in the 2024 Elections.
