After the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, passed away, the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) decided not to field a candidate for the Tamale Central parliamentary by-election.
The PNC and the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) have also decided to drop out of the race. Consequently, the only candidate remaining in the election is Professor Seidu Mahama Alidu of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
At a primary over the weekend, Prof. Alidu was overwhelmingly supported by NDC delegates, out of 12 candidates who wished to run for the party’s seat in the by-election.
A source at the Electoral Commission (EC) confirmed to that the PNC and LPG contestants, who had earlier completed the filing process on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, officially pulled out of the race by writing to the EC through their respective general secretaries.
The MP for the area, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, died in a helicopter crash on August 6, 2025, with seven others.
Tamale Central is a constituency where the governing NDC has held parliamentary dominance.
Prof. Alidu’s triumph at the NDC primary almost guaranteed him a place in Parliament, as the upcoming by-election was only a routine exercise to enter the legislature.
Furthermore, the opposition NPP had already stated that it would not run for office in the by-election, even prior to the NDC primary.
Former Tamale Metropolitan Assembly Chief Executive Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, Prof. Alidu’s closest opponent in the NDC primaries, received 536 votes.
Alhassan Osman Gomda received seven votes, Sadat Haruna Alhassan received 9 votes, Mariama Naama Salifu received 5 votes, Hajia Shamima Yakubu received 5 votes, Hajia Mulaika Salisu received 3 votes, Dr. Seidu Fiter Mohammed received forty-four votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid received 23 votes, Dr. Abdul-Rahaman Abdul-Rashid received 9 votes, Prof. Abdul-Razak Abubakari received 4 votes, and Alhaji Alhassan Mbalba received 10 votes.
Who is Prof Seidu Alidu?
A Political scientist, Prof. Seidu Mahama Alidu, is a lecturer at the University of Ghana/
He once headed the Department of Political Science of the institution.
A professor of political science at the University of Ghana, Prof. Alidu serves as the Water Resources Commission’s executive secretary.
A Donahue Institute Scholar on U.S. Political Thought at the University of Massachusetts in 2014, he has given lectures in 12 African universities, including the University of Lagos, the University of Ibadan, the University of Dar es Salaam, the University of Nairobi, and the University of Botswana.
He is a former MIASA Fellow on Parliaments and Democracy in Africa, and has consulted for organisations, including PASGR, the Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen, IDS at the University of Sussex, the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, UNDP, the Varieties of Democracy Project, and the Social Science Research Council.
Professor Alidu is a prolific writer on the following topics: Ghana Studies, Journal of African Political Economy and Development, Transitional Justice Review, Peace Review, and Criminal Justice Studies.
