NDC stalwarts battle at Ahafo-Ano South East primary
Four National Democratic Congress (NDC) party stalwarts are contesting the party’s parliamentary primary in the Ahafo-Ano South East Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
They are a Chartered Insurer, Chris Boadi-Mensah, the current District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area; Gilbert Barimah fondly called ‘Tweea,’and two teachers, Steven Kwadwo Antwi and Thomas Kwakwa.
They are set to battle one another for the single slot on November 7, as the party seeks to increase the number of its Members of Parliament in the region from four to five.
Straight battle
The contest could be a straight battle between Boadi-Mensah and the incumbent DCE as the two teachers are yet to make a strong impact at the constituency level.
And between the two, the DCE has a lot of work to do to cleanse himself from the bad tag his recent infamous ‘Who said tweea’ comment has given him.
On the other hand, Boadi-Mensah says he is not complacent knowing too well that he needs to work extra hard to overturn the results of the 2012 elections which was won by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Francis Manu Adaboh.
Margins lost
The Ahafo-Ano South East Constituency is one of the new constituencies created during the 2012 elections and the 2016 elections will be the second time the electorate in the constituency will be voting.
In the 2012 elections, the NDC lost by 1,600 votes in the presidential polls and 2,228 in the parliamentary elections.
It is one of the seats the NDC is counting on to increase its parliamentary seat in the region from four to five.
Currently, the NDC occupies the Tepa, New Edubiase, Asawase and Sekyere Afram Plains seats and it is optimistic to add the ‘orphan’ Ahafo- Ano South East seat.
The party is also targeting other constituencies including, Obuasi East and West and Ejisu in an attempt to achieve the much-trumpeted one million votes in the region.
The submission of forms by the 39-year-old Chartered Insurer, Chris Boadi-Mensah, caused a stir in the Adugyama township, a suburb of Mankranso in the Ahafo-Ano South East Constituency, when party faithful, both the old and young flooded the streets to listen to him.
A key financier of the party in the area, currently the Special Assistant to the Regional Chairman, Yaw Obempeh, and also the head of the Finance Committee, Boadi-Mensah’s sponsorship of several projects and support to the youth have made him a very favourite choice.
Meanwhile, the four aspirants have all gone through vetting successfully.
