Political parties contesting Tuesday’s by-election at Fomena in the Ashanti Region to elect a new Member of Parliament on Sunday wrapped up campaigning with rallies. The by-election follows the death of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP, Akwasi Afrifa, who was buried at the weekend. Only the NPP, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) are contesting the vacant seat. By the close of nominations, NPP had registered Nana Abu Bonsra, 49, an architectural consultant, while Grace Amporful, 60, a teacher will stand on the ticket of the NDC and Augustina Kyei, 47, a farmer will contest in the name of the DPP. Though the NPP is widely expected to win the election, the NDC and DPP believe they can mount a good challenge. The Fomena constituency has about 45 polling stations and about 15,722 electorates will be expected to cast their ballot. The Electoral Commission which recruited and trained about 135 people as electoral officials for the by-election says ballot papers and other electoral materials are ready. In the 2004 parliamentary elections, Hon. Afrifa swept 8,207 votes to beat his closest challenger, George Kofi Tieku, an independent candidate who had 4,096 votes. NDC’s John Toku bagged 2,009 votes; DPP’s candidate, Scotah Kobina James, polled 1,146 and Ampomah Thomas, another independent candidate, got 70 votes. Meanwhile the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Frank Adu-Poku, has urged all political parties taking part in the by-election to co-operate with the Electoral Commission (EC) and the security agencies to ensure a smooth, transparent and peaceful election. He noted that the aim of each political party was to work for the betterment of Ghana and this should not be done in an atmosphere of animosity, rancour and acrimony. He said the security agencies would put measures in place to ensure that the electorate and all stakeholders in the process are adequately protected and that the law would deal with any person or group of persons who attempt to derail the process.