The incumbent Member of Parliament for Walewale, Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu has withdrawn from the Walewale New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primary. She announced the decision in a letter dated September 10, 2024 and addressed to the General Secretary of the NPP. In January, Dr Kabiru Mahama, a special aide to Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, narrowly defeated the incumbent Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu in a tightly contested primary.
The election saw Dr Kabiru winning with 345 votes against Hajia Lariba’s 338 votes. Unsatisfied with the outcome, Hajia Lariba Abudu headed to court to challenge the results, citing electoral irregularities and malpractice. The Tamale High Court last week annulled the results and ordered a re-run. The re-run was held on Monday, September 9, 2024 but it ended in confusion as the Electoral Commission was unable to sort and count the ballot papers at the end of the poll following a disruption and destruction of some of the ballot papers.
