Incumbent Agona West NPP MP Cynthia Mamle Morrison declares intention to contest as independent

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Aug - 22 - 2024 , 12:05 3 minutes read

The incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West in the Central Region, Cynthia Mamle Morrison has shaken the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership in the area, with her intention to contest the seat as an independent candidate.

Cynthia Mamle Morrison currently serves in Parliament under the NPP banner. However, the party has selected a new nominee, Chris Arthur, to contest the upcoming parliamentary election on its ticket.

Morrison lost her bid to represent the NPP after finishing 5th with 152 votes in the constituency's parliamentary primary, where she competed against four other candidates.

Mr. Chris Arthur won the primary with 240 votes, followed by Ben Yamoah with 221 votes, Yawson Otoo with 169 votes, Joseph Afankwa with 155 votes, and Cynthia Morrison with 152 votes. There were four rejected votes.

Delegates in the constituency were initially unable to participate in the general parliamentary primaries organised by the NPP due to an injunction secured by one of the aspirants, Joseph Afankwa, who had been disqualified. However, the primary was eventually held in April, with Afankwa participating in the contest.

Decision to go independent

Cynthia Mamle Morrison publicly gave a hint of her decision to contest as an independent candidate last week and this has moved the NPP constituency executives to react to her decision [WATCH THE ATTACHED VIDEO BELOW].

In a video seen on social media, Cynthia Morrison is said to have visited one of the communities in the area and that is where she indicated that she is going independent because of her love for the people of Agona West.

She said she is not concerned about who wins the presidential election, whether it be Bawumia or Mahama, but that her primary focus is on being re-elected as the representative for Agona West to complete the work she has started.

NPP reaction

Reacting, the NPP leadership in the constituency said her decision was surprising.

According to the Director of Research and Elections in the constituency, Nana Kwame Adjei, Cynthia Mamle Morrison's popularity in the constituency had gone down and hence the decision by the delegates to field a new candidate.

He said her conduct has been referred to the national office of the NPP for action.

Cynthia Mamle Morrison first won the Agona West Constituency seat in the 2016 elections with 32,770 votes out of the 56,878 cast, representing 58.03 percent of total valid votes.

She re-contested the 2020 elections as the parliamentary candidate for the NPP and was elected for a second four-year term.

She polled 30,513 out of a total of 59,193 valid votes cast as against Paul Ofori-Amoah of the opposition National Democratic Congress who had 27,673 votes, and an independent candidate Ishmael Kofi Tekyi Turkson had 1,007 votes.

On August 9, 2018, she was appointed Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

She is currently not a minister of state.

Watch the attached video below

VIDEO - Incumbent Agona West MP Cynthia Mamle Morrison shakes NPP with intention to contest as independent https://t.co/2IOf5PL67M pic.twitter.com/LSW4rYDrwe
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