Asunafo North NPP parliamentary race gets hotter
The political temperature, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) style, has risen to a crescendo in the Asunafo North Constituency of the Ahafo Region ahead of Saturday's parliamentary primary.
Three candidates who are vying for the parliamentary ticket have been criss-crossing the constituency in a last minute bid to woo the delegates, 838 in all who will be voting in the 29 electoral areas on Saturday.
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The incumbent, Evans Opoku Bobie, is facing a battle of his life as he slugs it out with "old foe" Farouk Nkrumah and a fresher, Paul Gyan.
Farouk, 41, a former banker and now an entrepreneur, is having a second shot at the constituency ticket having lost in the 2016 primary. He is brimming with confidence ahead of the polls.
"A lot of things have gone wrong in the constituency and we cannot allow the status quo to remain, so I'm coming to right the wrongs to put the party in a better position to retain the parliamentary seat in December, "he told the Daily Graphic at Goaso, the constituency headquarters and regional capital on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.
Ahafo scenario
Ahafo, one of the six regions created in 2019, has six constituencies with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) occupying two — Asutifi South (Alhaji Collins Dauda) and Asunafo South(Eric Opoku). Being orphaned constituencies, the NPP had already elected parliamentary candidates for the two constituencies.
With the remaining four, two sitting MPs — Freda Prempeh of Tano North and Benjamin Sekyere Yeboah for Tano South — are going unopposed in Saturday's primaries.
Competitive polls are, therefore, being held in two constituencies in the region, namely Asunafo North and Asutifi North.
But the hottest spot, arguably, will be Asunafo North, where Opoku Bobie, the Regional Minister, has a huge mountain to climb in his quest to retain the parliamentary ticket of his party for the December polls.
Political watchers in the region see the contest as a straight fight between Opoku Bobie and Farouk with Gyan playing the dark horse.
2016 primary
In the 2016 parliamentary primary, Opoku Bobie, caused an upset when he obtained 321 votes to unseat the then incumbent, Robert Sarfo-Mensah, who polled 228 votes with Farouk then a new entrant, garnering 221 votes to place third in the keenly contested primary.
It was the second time Opoku Bobie contested the constituency primary having fought for and lost the 2012 primary to Sarfo-Mensah.
Complexity
Opoku Bobie is driving his campaign with two swords. First is the so-called incumbency advantage and second, as the regional minister.
On paper, that puts him in a position to get the better part of delegates.
But, with the internal political dynamics of the party having become complex, the incumbent would need more than the two swords to clinch the ticket.
Some say his popularity had waned while others believe he still has the wherewithal to maintain a stranglehold on the ticket.
Farouk thinks the end of the MP has come. "My message to the delegates is that, I'm coming to strengthen the party in the constituency and create equal opportunities for all, " he said.
For candidate Gyan, his presence is not much felt in the scheme of things. He is a pharmacist who is said to have been recently transferred from Sunyani to Techimantia.
But the final decision rests with the men and women who will decide the fate of the three candidates.
Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, there is an electorate out there in the constituency who are anxious to go out and cast their ballots to elect a candidate who is capable of winning the parliamentary seat in December.