Don’t impose incumbent MP on Agona West - Concerned Delegates
Some delegates of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Agona West Constituency have cautioned the national executives of the party against imposing the incumbent Member of Parliament, Mrs Cynthia Morrison, on the constituency in the party’s upcoming parliamentary primaries.
According to them, attempts by the national leadership of the party to disqualify all contenders in the yet-to-be-held primary could negatively affect party unity, as well as derail the NPP’s chances of retaining the seat in the December general election.
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They have, therefore, called for fairness in the primary by allowing all eligible candidates to contest if the party is indeed interested in retaining the seat it snatched from the opposition National Democratic Congress in the 2016 election.
Onomah Coleman cleared?
The incumbent, Mrs Morrison, is expected to battle it out with a former MP for the area, Mr Samuel Kweku Obodai, and a new entrant, Mr Yawson Otoo.
Another contender, Mr Evans Addison Coleman, a former Constituency Chairman, who was also a contender in the primary, was, however, disqualified during the vetting process in the Central Region.
Mr Coleman, however, appealed against his disqualification and subsequently appeared before the National Appeals Committee to justify his claim on the ballot for the primaries.
Although deep-throat sources within the corridors of the party in the constituency claim Mr Coleman had been cleared to contest the primary, there were some party bigwigs who were impressing upon him to withdraw from the contest since he was a major threat to the sitting MP.
Also, some of the party members claimed that although Mr Obodai and Mr Otoo sailed through the vetting to contest, there were underhand dealings at the national level to disqualify them so that Mrs Morrison could go unopposed.
Orchestration
In an interview with the Daily Graphic at the weekend, a Branch Chairman at the Happy Home Preparatory School polling station ‘A’ at Swedru, Mr Philip Morgan Wright, stated that the orchestration by the top echelons of the party to ensure that the incumbent MP went unopposed would not augur well for the party.
“I can tell you for a fact that there is great apathy among party members and that if the primary is not conducted fairly, it will further deepen the woes of the party in the run-up to the December polls,” he said.
Sake of party unity
Another delegate and Polling Station Secretary at Woraba Estate at Agona Swedru, Mr Godfred Essel, indicated that for the sake of party unity, none of the candidates should be disallowed from the contest so that whoever would emerge victorious would represent the will of the people.
“This contest is a family one and there should be no impediment in the way of other contenders so that the people’s choice will emerge at the end of the contest,” a worried delegate noted.
Dangerous move
For his part, the Chairman at the Agona Abodom Musama Disco Christo Church (MDCC) polling station, Mr Eric Nkrumah, popularly referred to as ‘Osagyefo’, said the upcoming primary must be fair to enable the winner to retain the seat and maximise the votes of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the December polls.
“I am pleading with the National Executive Committee not to impose any candidate on the people of Agona West,” he pleaded.