Who wins battle in Gomoa East NPP primary? Both candidates sure of victory
The two parliamentary candidates in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gomoa East Constituency primary, which is being rerun tomorrow, have assured the supporters of a resounding victory.
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The primary promises to be a keenly contested election, since both candidates are optimistic of securing victory in the polls to be held at Gomoa Akramang.
It is the last constituency primary to be held in the Central Region for the 2016 election.
The rerun is between Apostle Dr Marqus Yaw Danso and Mr Kojo Asemanyi, after each of them polled 153 votes in the first primary held on Saturday, June 13, 2015.
In the first election, three other candidates contested the primary. Messrs Samuel Aikins, Richard Panford and Mcjewels Annan polled 49, 29 and 26 votes respectively.
The battle line has, therefore, been drawn between the two who intensified their campaign with a few days to the election to win the trust of the 434 eligible delegates who are expected to exercise their franchise to elect a suitable candidate.
The two candidates developed strategies of meeting the potential delegates in their respective communities to convince them to vote for any of them to wrest the parliamentary seat from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Court action
After the first election, a party member, Mr Adolf Nfodwo, who is a supporter of Apostle Dr Marqus Yaw Danso, filed a suit at the Agona Swedru High Court against the Central Regional Electoral Officer of the NPP, the Regional secretariat of the NPP and Kojo Asemanyi.
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He prayed the court to declare his candidate as the validly elected parliamentary candidate for the constituency, citing some irregularities that occurred during the counting of the ballots.
He also prayed the court to direct the Central Regional NPP to declare Mr Marqus Danso as the validly elected candidate with 154 votes, while the third defendant, Mr Kojo Asemani should be put on record as having secured 153 votes.
Injunction
When the court began hearing the substantive case, the plaintiff again filed another suit praying the court to issue an emergency interim order of injunction to restrain the three defendants from going ahead to organise a rerun of the primary until the controversies surrounding the earlier elections had been resolved in the substantive suit.
According to the plaintiff, the three defendants were secretly arranging a re-run of the election, hence his call for an injunction to prevent it.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice Peter Dei Offei, however, dismissed the application for interlocutory injunction. He described the issue as fraternal, which could be easily resolved amicably.
Dr Danso
Dr Danso sees himself as the better of the two of them to represent the party in the 2016 election, having been a financier of the party in the constituency for so many years.
The reverend minister, who is the founder and leader of the Christ for All Missions Church at Kasoa, is optimistic of victory because, according to him, he is a grass-roots person who understands the dynamics of the politics in the area.
He told the Daily Graphic in a telephone interview that he was the favourite of the delegates and when elected, he would ensure that the needs of the constituents, particularly youth employment, would be satisfied.
Mr Asemanyi
Kojo Asemanyi, a 35-year-old Marketing and Business Executive, is contesting the primary for the fourth consecutive time and thinks that the NPP has a tradition to reward loyal members.
He started contesting the primary since 2008, but lost on all three occasions; yet, he has been faithful to the party and thinks that loyalty must triumph over any other consideration.
Therefore, he says he would be given the nod to lead the party in the constituency this time round.
He told this reporter that he would harness the human resource potential of the people through education at all levels to facilitate the development of the constituency.
Writer’s email: gilbertagbey@gmail.com
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