Political campaign activities reached the summit in the Cape Coast South Constituency as the twilight of the 2024 political season rapidly gives way to a new dawn.
The city, which was calm and quiet a few weeks back, but is now buzzing with night floats, mini rallies, door-to-door interactions, and deafening campaign songs as candidates deploy last minute strategies to win the minds and hearts of voters.
The constituency, albeit a fishing community, is cosmopolitan as it hosts many state departments, ministries and agencies, schools, banks, and businesses, giving it a wide range of demographics.
More than 53,000 registered voters are expected to go to the polls across 117 polling stations to elect a new Member of Parliament come Saturday.
The election promises to be exciting as it is crucial with four contesting candidates, including two independents, on the parliamentary ballot paper.
The candidates are Mr George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, the incumbent MP, contesting on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); Mr Ernest Arthur, the Mayor of Cape Coast and candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP); and Mr Perry Mensah and Mr Isaac Manu both standing as independent candidates.
The Cape Coast South Constituency was carved out of the old Cape Coast Constituency in October 2012 and ever since, it has been Mr Ricketts-Hagan of the NDC occupying the seat.
He beat Mr Michael Arthur-Dadzie, a legal luminary of the NPP, with more than 3,000 votes in 2012 and defeated him again with just 721 votes in 2016.
In 2020, Mr Ricketts-Hagan faced off against Mr Arthur, the Mayor of Cape Coast, and floored him with 1,407 votes and this year, he is seeking to extend his 12-year term on the seat with a bigger margin.
Although it might seem like an arduous task, many people believe that it would be the easiest contest for the MP.
This is because the NPP seems to be going into the race limping as Mr Perry and Mr Manu, the two independents, are both defected members of the party.
But Madam Carolyne Aboagye Ewusi, the Constituency Chairperson of the NPP, is convinced that the candidature of the duo is no threat to the fortunes of the party at all.
She believes the Mayor and the NPP have performed exceptionally well in the constituency and with their proposed policies on education, health and jobs, the electorate will give him a chance.
As the citadel of education in Ghana, she says the Free Senior High School policy is the best thing that has happened to Cape Coast, saying many Cape Coasters have had the opportunity to attend some of the best schools in the region.
She says, if voted as MP, Mr Arthur, a humble and compassionate character, intends to dedicate 90 per cent of his GETFund to renovating most of the dilapidated schools in the constituency.
Madam Ewusi intimates that her candidate will introduce the “Local Economic Development” policy, a job and employment policy which will support petty traders and entrepreneurs to set up their own businesses to boost the local economy.
“He is a businessman, and he believes that when he establishes one person, they can also empower more than two people and that is a way of creating jobs for the people,” she said.
She says members of both NPP and NDC are applauding the mayor for his unprecedented achievements in the Metropolis in the past eight years, a sign of victory.
“If you consider the positions Mr Ricketts-Hagan has occupied since becoming MP including being a Deputy Minister of Trade and Deputy Minister of Finance, Cape Coast cannot boast of even a pure factory established by him.”
“If indeed Cape Coasters will vote based on issues and think about the interest of this constituency, the MP will be kicked out,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mr Ishmael Abakah, the Constituency Communications Officer for the NDC, is certain that the electorate will retain Mr Ricketts-Hagan for the development he has brought to Cape Coast.
He accuses the governing NPP and the Mayor of failing to deliver their promises, a reason he believes the will reject them.
For him, there is an appreciable level of development in the Constituency, and the only lacking are jobs for the youth.
In view of that, he says the MP plans on embarking on an intensive employment agenda which will see the establishment of a factory which fits into the NDC’s 24-hour economy policy as well as an apprenticeship programme which will employ more than 1,000 young people.
“We have already developed a digital application for recruitment even before we come to power because a country where most of the youths have no jobs, the security of that country is at risk,” he said.
Mr Abakah touted numerous achievements of the MP including the construction of a delivery ward at the Ekon CHPS compound, construction of the Ekon road, construction of a library at Ekon, distribution of streetlights for security and the procurement of a school bus which transports pupils for free.
“If you are given a prescription at the hospital and you cannot afford the bill, you only must take it to the MP’s office. You will be given a notice to take to the Kingsway Pharmacy and your drugs will be given to you free of charge and the amount will be from the MP’s common fund,” he added.
“We are very certain that we will win both the parliamentary and presidential elections. Last year he was beaten with more than 1,400 votes and this time around, we will beat him with more than 3,000 votes,” he stated.
Interestingly, Mr Perry, a serial entrepreneur, is giving the two parties a run for their money as his message seems to resonate with the people.
His primary aim is to create jobs for the youth, he says.
If voted into office, he promises to embark on “Operation SCAF” – a development agenda anchored on four pillars of growth namely; skills training and development, culture and tourism, agro-processing, and fishing.
These sectors, he believes, if harnessed properly, will turn around the local economy and drive down youth unemployment significantly.
He says his commitment to job creation is evident in his establishment of a rice factory, an ICT training institute which has offered dozens of scholarships and many other endeavours he has embarked on.
“If we decide to come together with a common purpose to make Cape Coast great, we can do it with ease,” he said.
Mr Isaac Manu is, however, practically missing in action, which is believed to be a deliberate strategy.
Voters who spoke with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) expressed varying opinions with some opting out of the electoral exercise, citing disappointment from the two leading political parties.
According to the Central Regional Police Command, the campaigns have been peaceful because the parties and their supporters have been compliant.
Nonetheless, all candidates have called for a peaceful election and entreated their followers to stay out of trouble.
GNA