Following the earlier decision by the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to field a candidate to contest the Tamale Central parliamentary by-election following the death of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, the People's National Convention (PNC) and the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) have also decided to withdraw from the race.

This leaves Professor Seidu Mahama Alidu of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the sole contestant in the race.

Prof Alidu received an overwhelming endorsement from NDC delegates at a primary held over the weekend, with a total of 12 aspirants who wanted to represent the party in the by-election.

He polled 840 votes out of 1,500 valid votes in the contest of 12 aspirants to win the race to lead the party in the September 30, 2025, parliamentary by-election.

A source at the Electoral Commission (EC) confirmed to Graphic Online 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.

Besides, the opposition NPP indicated earlier even before the NDC primary that it was not going to field a contestant for the by-election.

Prof. Alidu’s closest contender in the NDC primary, Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, a former Chief Executive of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, garnered 536 votes.

The other candidates, who managed only single and double digit figures, were Dr Seidu Fiter Mohammed, 44 votes; Aliu Abdul-Hamid, 23 votes; Dr Abdul-Rahaman Abdul-Rashid, nine votes; Prof. Abdul-Razak Abubakari, four votes; Mariama Naama Salifu, five votes; Hajia Shamima Yakubu, five votes; Hajia Mulaika Salisu, three votes; Alhassan Osman Gomda, seven votes; Sadat Haruna Alhassan, nine votes, and Alhaji Alhassan Mbalba, 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.

Prof. Alidu is the Executive Secretary of the Water Resources Commission and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana.

He was a Donahue Institute Scholar on United States’ Political Thought at the University of Massachusetts in 2014 and has lectured at 12 universities across Africa, including the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, University of Dar-es-Salaam, University of Nairobi and 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.

Prof. Alidu has published widely on Peace Review, Criminal Justice Studies, Transitional Justice Review, Journal of African Political Economy and Development, Contemporary Journal of African Development, and Ghana Studies.