Nii Nortey, Philip Addison slug it out in NPP Klottey Korle primary
The rerun of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Klottey Korle Constituency parliamentary primary in the Greater Accra Region is expected to be fiercely contested between the two great elephant members today.
Mr Valentino Nii Noi Nortey and Mr Philip Kojo Addo Addison, two of the three aspirants, are in pole positions to win the primary.
The third aspirant, Mr Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, on Wednesday night (accompanied by his campaign manager, Mr Alex Antwi), tendered his withdrawal letter to the Constituency Chairman, Mrs Juliana Aboagye.
It is believed that he is now throwing his weight behind Lawyer Addison.
Defections/Alliances
This primary, which has seen defections and alliances, is going to be a do-or-die affair. While the youthful Nii Nortey is the darling boy of the constituency, Lawyer Addison of the Supreme Court election petition fame would be aided by the strong support base of Mr Tawiah.
The mixed feelings in the Klottey Korle Constituency when the rerun was announced two weeks ago has given way to brisk campaigning as the aspirants are bent on capturing the slot.
This follows a final decision taken by the party for a rerun of the disputed primary in the constituency on February 27, ahead of the 2016 election in November.
Shelved primary
It will be recalled that in the last primary on August 2, 2015 that had been shelved because of controversy, Nii Noi Nortey polled 393 votes while Mr Addison and Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah managed to garner 22 and 19 votes respectively.
It will, therefore, be exciting to see who would emerge as the 2016 parliamentary candidate on the ticket of NPP in the Klottey Korle Constituency.
If all things go on well, the winner of this primary will come face to face with Dr Zanetor Rawlings, the National Democratic Congress parliamentary candidate for the 2016 polls.
All set for primary
With the release of the notice of poll in the constituency, which was delayed because Nii Tawiah withdrew at the last minute, all is set for the primary to take off smoothly today.
According to the Klottey Korle Constituency Chairman and Vice Chairman, Mrs Juliana Aboagye, and Alhaji Kabi, respectively, the notice of poll which was released on Thursday confirmed that the race was between Nii Nortey and Lawyer Addison.
Feverish preparations
In all, about 795 delegates are expected to cast their votes today at the party headquarters.
The posters of the contestants have been splashed once more in the constituency as they are leaving no stone unturned to capture the parliamentary slot of the party in the constituency which is in the heart of Accra and is of strategic value.
Delegates
While some delegates believe that there should be a rerun of the party’s election that was held in August last year, others think otherwise.
Additionally, some members of the party within the constituency believe that a decision by the court states that there should be a rerun. However, others think that has been misinterpreted, engendering the steering committee of the party to order a rerun for peace to prevail in the area.
Background
It will be recalled that Nii Noi Nortey polled 393 votes to beat Mr Philip Kojo Addo Addison and Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, who managed to garner 22 and 19 votes respectively, in the party’s primary held on August 2, 2015 at its headquarters.
This was after the primary in the area had been postponed several times due to protracted issues among the main contenders.
Even though the election was boycotted by Mr Addison and Nii Adjei Tawiah for lack of transparency, the Electoral Commission (EC) went ahead to hold the primary that day.
This brought about a lot of confusion and misunderstanding among the rank and file of the party in the constituency, causing Mr Addison to take the issue to court.
Battle of words
Lawyer Addison has disclosed that some members of Nii Noi’s campaign team had defected because he failed to fulfil promises he made to them prior to the previous primary.
But Nii Noi Nortey wondered why Lawyer Addison would want to take advantage of the defection.He rather argues, “my main contender, Philip Addison, is naive for suggesting that the defection of some of the core members of my campaign team spelt doom for me.”
He said: “I’m not complacent with an election until the last ballot is counted and you are elected winner, so I have to still keep working hard.”
He argued that Mr Addison was entitled to his opinion with such claims but advised him thus “he should know that this is politics; he shouldn’t be saying such things because if he thinks that my close confidants are with him, he should look around well, what if we set them around with him? It is politics so at the end of the day, let’s see what God decides, where the victory goes.”
On reports that one of the aspirants, Nii Adjei Tawiah, had stepped down to support Addison, Nii Noi Nortey said he was not perturbed by such move.
“With elections any serious politician will tell you that you don’t go for 50/50, we go for the majority.”
I’m bitter about primary rerun
Nii Nortey had earlier been elected winner of the primary held in the area in 2015 after which a court ordered a rerun.
He said though he felt bitter about the issue, he was hopeful of emerging a winner on February 27 (today).
“We all feel bitter about it but like I said, victory comes from God and the Bible tells us hard work pays. The delegates on the ground know what they want. After my victory the whole party must unite in the constituency and work towards victory come November 7,” he added.