The battle for Abirem Constituency
It has been termed the battle of all battles in the Abirem Constituency, between the Frimpong’s- the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) Mr Osei Frimpong and the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC’s) Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong.
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The terminology came about as a result of the performance of Ms Frimpong in the parliamentary elections when she almost snatched victory from the incumbent Member of Parliament(MP), Madam Esther Obeng-Dapaah, who stood on the ticket of the NPP.
Perhaps the fear of the NPP losing its stronghold to the NDC might have necessitated the election of a new parliamentary candidate in the person of Mr Frimpong.
A tour of the constituency by the Daily Graphic indicated that the NPP and the NDC would square it up without any compromise.
2012 Parliamentary election
In the 2012 parliamentary election, Miss Frimpong, who was then the District Chief Executive(DCE) for New Abirem and a candidate, for once, increased the NDC’s votes from 7,430 in 2008 to 14,515 while the NPP had 13,319 to 17,347 within the same period.
The performance of Mrs Frimpong, according to information gathered, made her the darling lady of her party and no wonder she was made the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister shortly after the election. Through hard work she was subsequently elevated to the enviable position of a Regional Minister.
Before being made the Deputy Regional Minister, she was the DCE for Birim North.
The two contestants are making efforts to replace the incumbent MP, Madam Obeng-Dapaah, who has bowed out after Mr Osei-Frimpong had beaten her and three other contestants in last year’s NPP primary.
NDC views
According to a supporter of the NDC in the constituency, Mr Yaw Nkansah, the selection of Miss Frimpong as the parliamentary candidate for the NDC did not come as a surprise to him because of her pedigree within her party.
“From being a DCE, deputy regional minister and now a regional minister, she has brought a number of development projects to the area. With only one health post in the area, we can now boast a district hospital. Thanks her ingenuity and hard work which has enabled her to bring development partners on board to push for the speedy development of the area”.
“Apart from these, areas such as Afosu, Noyem, New Abirem have all experienced and benefitted from some amount of development projects”, he added.
NPP views
For their part, NPP supporters are of the view that, the NDC would be fighting a losing battle come the 2016 election day.
“With this despondency, and the general economic hardship currently being experienced in the country, there is no way Ghanaians will vote for the NDC and its parliamentary candidates. Ghanaians are suffering and this must be stopped, and come the D-Day we are of the conviction that vile propaganda will give way to the truth”, The Eastern Regional Director of Communication of the NPP, Mr David Prah, told the Daily Graphic.
He described the NPP parliamentary candidate as a formidable one, who was once the personal Assistant of Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, and on the ground with the grassroot working hard to bring Nana Akufo-Addo as the next President of Ghana.
Miss Frimpong
A native of Afosu, Miss Frimpong attended Huni Valley Secondary School and is a Public Health Technical Specialist, and for a number of consultant organisations, including the Catholic Relief Services, Care International and the Population Council of the United States of America.
In addition to these she held various positions such as the Ghana Country Programme Representative (Willows Foundation), the Head of Maternal and Reproductive Health Unit at the Earth Institute’s MDG Centre, Columbia University (for West and Central Africa), among others.
Mr Osei- Frimpong
Mr. Osei-Frimpong, who holds a first degree in social science and M. Phil from the University of Ghana, Legon, has vowed not only to teach Ms. Ama Frimpong a political lesson, but also retire her from active politics.
In an interview with this writer, Mr Osei-Frimpnog predicted to secure about 75 per cent of the total 43,000 votes for the constituency come December 7, 2016.