A total of 1,081 delegates are expected to partake in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary elections in the Ablekuma West Constituency scheduled for Saturday, January 27, 2024.
This include five Council of Elders members and Council of Patrons each as well as the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP).
The election, which will elect Parliamentary Candidates for the NPP for the 2024 general elections, will take place in constituencies where the Party has sitting MPs.
In the Ablekuma West Constituency, three people filed to contest the primaries–Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, incumbent MP for the area; Mr Robert Kwesi Nicole, a businessman, and Madam Sylvia Opoku-Manu.
However, Madam Sylvia Opoku-Manu was disqualified by the Party’s Greater Accra Vetting Committee, a decision which was later upheld by the National Executive Committee.
The decision, therefore, leaves the incumbent MP, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful and Mr Robert Kwesi Nicole, a businessman, in a two-horse race.
Since it was carved out of the then Ablekuma South Constituency in 2012, the Ablekuma West Constituency has been a strong hold of the governing NPP, having won all three elections held in the constituency.
Also, it has known only one MP, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, who has won all elections held since its creation – 2012, 2016 and 2020.
In 2020 general election, for instance, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful retained the seat with over 6,500 votes, beating competition from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Reverend Kweku Addo.
She polled 37,363 votes, representing 54.3 per cent while the NDC’s Reverend Kweku Addo polled 30,733 votes, representing 44.6 per cent.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful would, therefore, be hoping to contest the 2024 Parliamentary election as the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the Constituency for the fourth straight time, while Mr Nicole, will be aiming to topple the four-time Candidate and MP.
Mr Tetteh Mills, the Ablekuma West Constituency Secretary of the NPP, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, emphasised the need for the candidates and their supporters to abide by the Party’s code of conduct to ensure a united front after the primaries.
He explained that retaining the seat for a fourth time remained a priority for the Party, indicating that it would not countenance any action that would defeat that purpose.
“This message was communicated to them after they had done the vetting and we urged them to have that in mind,” he stressed.
The NPP will, on Saturday, January 27, 2024, hold elections in all 137 constituencies with sitting MPs except the Nhyiaso Constituency in the Ashanti Region, where a suit filed at court is yet to be determined.
Again, there will not be election in 32 other constituencies where aspirants are going unopposed.
In all, 356 aspirants are expected to participate in the primaries.
GNA