Tema, Ashaiman, Dangbe constituencies in perspective

All is set for the general election in the Tema Metropolis with assurances from the Electoral Commission and the Metropolitan Security Task Force that the needed logistics and personnel are in place to ensure an incident-free poll.

The metropolis consists of three constituencies, namely Tema West, Tema East and Tema Central. Voting will take place at 410 polling stations, with 268,290 registered voters expected to cast their ballots.

Out of that figure, Tema West has a total of 114,502 voters, followed by Tema East with 93,398 voters and Tema Central which has 60,390 voters.

The candidates

In all, 12 aspirants, comprising 11 males and one female, are contesting parliamentary seats in the three constituencies in the metropolis.

Eleven of the aspirants are contesting on the ticket of political parties, while the remaining one is contesting as an independent candidate.

Tema East

The parliamentary candidates for Tema East as they will appear on the ballot paper are Mr Robert Kempes Papa Nii Ofosuware of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Daniel Nii Kwatei Titus-Glover of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr  Richmond Larweh Mensah of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and Mr Theophilus Nii Anakamah Densu Tetteh, the only independent candidate in that constituency.

Tema West

In the Tema West race to Parliament, the aspirants are Mr Marshall Dogbatse of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP),   Mr James Enu (NDC), Mr Kingsley Carlos Ahenkorah (NPP), Mr Kwaku Awotwe of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Mr Peter King Kwame Adano (CPP).

Tema Central

The candidates for the Tema Central Constituency are Ms Ebi Bright (NDC), Mr Kofi Brako (NPP) and Nene Kpobi Sam (CPP).

2012  Presidential results

In the 2012 Election, NPP won in two out of the three constituencies in the metropolis. The party’s presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is still on the ballot, won the Tema West and Tema Central constituencies, while NDC’s John Dramani Mahama who is seeking  re-election won in Tema East.

President Mahama polled 32,162 votes representing 50.73 per cent of the votes in Tema East, while Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP garnered 30,701 votes representing  48.43 per cent of total votes cast.

Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the PPP and Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, an independent candidate, who are also on this year’s ballot, marshalled 297 votes (0.47 per cent) and 21 votes (0.03 per cent ) respectively.

The NPP’s hold on Tema West and Tema Central was manifest in the 2012 Election. In the Tema West Constituency for instance, Nana Akufo-Addo polled 40,952 votes (50.70 per cent), while NDC’s John Mahama secured 39,172 votes (48.50 per cent).

Dr Nduom and Mr Yeboah managed to poll  412 votes (0.51 per cent) and 15 votes (0.02 per cent) respectively.

Tema Central also gave NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo 27,993 votes (62.14 per cent) while John Dramani Mahama had 16,635 votes (36.92 per cent). Dr Nduom and Mr Yeboah polled 292 votes (0.65 per cent) and three votes (0.01 per cent) respectively.

Ashaiman

In nearby Ashaiman Constituency, a total of five candidates have laced their boots ready for a showdown to decide who picks the ticket to represent the people in Parliament.

In this year’s race, the aspirants are Mr Ernest Norgbey of the NDC, with his major contender being the NPP parliamentary candidate, Alhaji Labaran Yakubu Barry. Also in the race are  Ms Hamida B. Damba of the CPP, Mr Yakubu Musah of the APC and Kojo Atta Ayetey of the PPP.

2012  Presidential results

In the 2012 Elections NDC’s John Dramani Mahama  polled 60,178 votes (60.18 per cent) while his major contender, Nana Akufo-Addo, secured 33,725 votes (35.72 per cent) votes.

Dr Nduom and Mr Yeboah garnered 266 votes (0.28 per cent) and 32 votes (0.03 per cent) respectively.

The Ashaiman Constituency can safely be described as an NDC stronghold on account of the party’s dominance in previous elections and the NPP can only seek to close up the numbers in this year’s election.

Kpone–Katamanso

In the Kpone Katamanso Constituency, the Greater Accra Regional Minister and incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo of the NDC, will face a stiff challenge from Mr Stanley Kwesi  Klemm (PPP), Mr Solomon Tettey Appiah (NPP) and Ms Pearl Akua Agyemang (independent).

Ningo-Prampram

The race for the seat in the Ningo-Prampram Constituency is among five male candidates. The aspirants are Mr Casmire Nii Okine Mensah (PPP), Mr Sam Nartey George (NDC), Mr Sylvester Tetteh (NPP), Mr Richard A. Nartey (APC) and Mr Frederick Marmah Nartey.

For the presidential race in 2012, President Mahama garnered 35,557 votes (59,69 per cent) to defeat Nana Akufo-Addo who had 23,650 votes (39.70 per cent).

Sege

In the Sege Constituency, the incumbent, Mr Otuteye Christian Corletey of the NDC, has two other contenders to deal with. They are 33-year-old Mortey Insah Doe of the PPP and Mr Divine Otoo Agorhom, 43, an industrialist who is contesting on the ticket of the NPP.

In 2012, the constituents gave NDC’s John Dramani Mahama a total of 18,652 votes (76.16 per cent) and Nana Akufo-Addo 5,375 votes (21.95 per cent)

Ada

At the Ada Constituency, 49-year-old Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe Ghansah of the NDC, the incumbent MP, will come face to face with three male candidates who are seeking to snatch the seat from her.

They are Messrs Kanor Sanakey, 70, NPP; Manasseh Asupah, 27, NDP and Daniel Katey Ossah, 29, CPP.

President Mahama, in 2012, with a difference of 19,221 votes defeated Nana Akufo-Addo in the Ada Constituency. NDC polled 22,794 votes (84.91 per cent) while NPP had 3,573 votes (13.31 per cent).

Shai-Osudoku

The Shai-Osudoku Constituency has four aspirants, three males and a female, vying for the seat. The only female aspirant is Mrs Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo who stepped in when her husband, originally elected at the primaries, died in a road accident.

Her contenders are Messrs Emmanuel Maatey Tetteh, Stephen Nene Oyortey and Solomon Narh Mensah.

The difference between the two leading presidential contenders in 2012 in this constituency was 15,000 votes. President Mahama marshalled 22,444 votes (74.12 per cent) while Nana Akufo-Addo settled for 7,444 votes (24.58 per cent).

Security

As of November 15, 2016,   the Tema Regional Police Command said it had identified 201 flashpoints within the Tema region, with Ashaiman leading the pack with 77 flashpoints.

The Metropolitan Elections Security Task Force, headed by the Tema Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Paul Manly N. Awini, at a recent media engagement said the Security Task Force had formulated a three-tier deployment strategy to effectively police the election.

The first-tier deployment, according to the task force, would involve the deployment of personnel to the polling stations and collation centres. The second-tier deployment will witness the deployment of patrol and monitoring teams to identified flashpoints in the region. This line of deployment is meant to provide prompt reinforcement when the need arises.  The third-tier strategy is a special team which will move in should the first and second tier teams be overwhelmed by any law, order or security challenges.

 Assurance

The regional police commander gave an assurance that the security agencies were ready to handle the security challenges to prevent any form of violence.