Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka

Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka is the Member of Parliament for Asawase in the Ashanti Region of Ghana[1] of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and the 8th parliaments of the 4th Republic of Ghana.[2]

Hon. Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak MP
Member of Ghanaian Parliament for Asawase Constituency
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 April 2005
Preceded by	Dr. Gibril Adamu Mohammed
Minister for Youth and Sports
In office January 2009 – 25 June 2009
President	John Atta Mills
Preceded by	Nana Akomea
Succeeded by	Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo
Personal details
Born	Muntaka 17 October 1970
Nationality	Ghanaian
Political party	National Democratic Congress
Spouse(s)	Meimuna Ezideen Abdul Wahab
Relations	Ras Mubarak (nephew)
Children	5 children
Alma mater	Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Occupation	Development Planner / Quantity Surveyor
Profession	Teacher
Committees	House Committee, Appointments Committee, Health Committee, Mines and Energy Committee, Committee for Selection Committee

Early life and education

Muntaka was born on October 17th 1970 hails from Akuse in the Eastern Region of Ghana but his parents originally came from the northern part of Ghana in a town called Kumbungu.[3] He is a product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.[3] He acquired a Masters of Science degree in Development Policy and Planning from the university.[3] This was in 2004.[3]

Career

Muntaka is a development planner by profession.[3] He was the head of one of the units (RME) of Adwumapa Buyers Limited, a cocoa buying company.[3]

Political career

Member of Parliament

Muntaka first entered the Parliament of Ghana on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress in 2005 when he won a by-election in the Asawase constituency with a majority of 11,142,[4] replacing the late Dr Gibril Adamu Mohammed also of the NDC who had won the seat in December 2004 with a majority of 4,474.[5] The Ghana Center for Democratic Development deemed this by-election as "fair and transparent, but not free from fear."[6] He subsequently retained his seat in the Ghanaian parliamentary election held in December 2008.[7][8] He also won the next election in 2012. Muntaka was the Chief Majority Whip in parliament for the NDC caucus, the majority in Government.

Minister of Youth and Sports

He was the Minister for Youth and Sports in the Ghana government. In January 2009 Mubarak was appointed as Minister-designate for the Youth and Sports Ministry by President John Evans Atta Mils. His appointment was applauded by the National Youth Council due to the his youthfulness and youthful exuberance as by the time of his appointment he was 39 years.[9] He served as Minister of Youth and sports until he was made to proceed on a leave while allegations of corruption leveled against him were investigated.[10][8] However, he resigned from government following the acceptance by President Mills of the findings of the investigating committee.[11] He was replaced subsequently by Dr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo.[12]

Elections

Muntaka was elected as the member of parliament for the Asawase constituency during the by-elections in 2005 after the death of Dr. Gibril Adamu Mohammed the then Member of Parliament for the Asawase constituency.

In 2008, he won the general elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress for the same constituency.[13][14] His constituency was part of the 3 parliamentary seats out of 39 seats won by the National Democratic Congress in that election for the Ashanti Region.[15] The National Democratic Congress won a majority total of 113 parliamentary seats out of 230 seats.[16] He was elected with 36,557 votes out of 64,443 total valid votes cast equivalent to 56.73% of total valid votes cast.[13][14] He was elected over Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Kabir of the New Patriotic Party, Elyasu Mohammed of the People’s National Convention, Mohammed Bashir Tijani of the Democratic Freedom Party and Alhaji Baba Musah of the Convention People’s Party.[13][14] These obtained 27,168, 371, 86 and 261 votes respectively of the total valid votes cast.[13][14] This was equivalent to 42.16%, 0.58%, 0.13 and 0.41% respectively of the total votes cast.[13][14]

In 2012, he won the general elections once again for the same constituency.[17][18] He was elected with 43,917 votes out of 77,034 total valid votes cast.[17][18] This was equivalent to 57.01% of total valid votes cast.[17][18] He was elected over Nana Okyere-Tawiah Antwi of the New Patriotic Party, Jerry Joseph Quayson of the Progressive People's Party, Abdulai Umaru of the People's National Convention, Elias Mohammed of the Convention People's Party, Yakubu Adams Zakaria of the National Democratic Party and Alhassan Abdul Majeed an independent candidate.[17][18] These obtained 31,013, 458, 267, 251, 182 and 946 votes respectively of the total valid votes cast.[17][18] These were equivalent to 40.26%, 0.59%, 0.35%, 0.33%, 0.24% and 1.23% respectively of the total votes cast.[17][18]

Mutaka retain the parliamentary seat in the 2020 general election to represent in the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic. he won with 51,659 votes while the NPP candidate polled 31,256.

Controversy

During the 2020 general election, Muntaka was said to have allowed his 6 year old daughter to thumbprint his ballot on his behalf, an act that attract wide condemnation as the Ghana electoral laws only permit people above 18 years to participate in elections.[19]

Personal life

Muntaka is married with five (5) children.[3] He is a Muslim.[3]

See also

• Asawase constituency
• List of Mills government ministers

References

1. "I've not advocated for children to marry at age 16 - Muntaka". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana, Current Affairs, Business News , Headlines, Ghana Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Articles, Opinions, Viral Content. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
2. "Parliament of Ghana". www.parliament.gh. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
3. "Ghana MPs - MP Details - Mubarack, Muntaka Mohammed (Alhaji)". 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
4. "NDC wins Asawase bye-election". General News of Friday, 22 April 2005. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
5. "NDC Silences Ruling Party In Asawase". Politics of Friday, 22 April 2005. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
6. "Statement on the Thursday April 21, 2005 Asawasi Constituency Parliamentary Bye-Election" (PDF). Ghana Center for Democratic Development. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
7. "Parliamentary Results Asawase (Ashanti Region)". Elections 2008. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
8. "Alhaji Muntaka to retain Asawase seat?". Graphic Online. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
9. "NYC happy with realignment of Ministry of Youth and Sports". BusinessGhana. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
10. "Times: New twist to Mubarak saga". MyJoyOnline. 10 June 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
11. "Embattled Sports Minister Muntaka resigns". General News of Friday, 26 June 2009. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
12. "Rashid Pelpuo confirmed Minister of Sports". MyJoyOnline.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
13. FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2008 Results - Asawase Constituency". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
14. Ghana Elections 2008. Ghana: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. 2010. p. 60.
15. FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2008 Results - Ashanti Region". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
16. FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2008". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
17. FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2012 Results - Asawase Constituency". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
18. Elections 2012. Ghana: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. 2012. p. 134.
19. "Why I allowed my 6-year-old daughter to thumbprint my ballot – Muntaka Mubarak explains". Pulse Ghana. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.

External links

• Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak on Parliament of Ghana website