Constituency watch: Tough battle at Abirem
A tough political battle reminiscent of the biblical fight between David and Goliath would take place in the Abirem Constituency in the Eastern Region on December 7, 2016.
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The combatants are Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong, the Eastern Regional Minister, and Mr John Osei-Frimpong, the former Special Assistant to Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo when he was the Minister of Finance/Education and Sports in President Kufuor’s adminstration.
Madam Frimpong, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, is contesting the parliamentary seat for the second time in succession, having lost the seat to the outgoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP), Madam Esther Obeng-Dapaah.
Mr Osei-Frimpong, the NPP candidate, is making his first attempt to annex the parliamentary seat after failing twice to win the NPP primary.
Mr Osei-Frimpong was, however, third-time lucky after defeating three other contestants in the NPP primary last year.
Ms Ama Frimpong, who contested on the ticket of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2012 and lost, is staging a comeback to sort things out with Mr John Osei-Frimpong, who is a new entrant in the parliamentary race but a doyen in politics.
All is set
As both Ms Frimpong and Mr Osei-Frimpong have filed their nominations and launched their campaigns in grand styles, all is now set to engage in hostilities to annex the Abirem parliamentary seat.
In her maiden outing in 2012, Ms Frimpong lost the parliamentary seat to the incumbent MP, Madam Esther Obeng-Dapaah, by 17, 384 votes to 14,515, showing a difference of 2,869 votes.
Stronghold of NPP
The Abirem Constituency has been a stronghold of the NPP since 2000 as the party has won both the presidential and parliamentary elections since then.
The NPP boycotted the 1992 parliamentary election which paved the way for Dr Owusu Agyekum who contested on the ticket of the National Convention Party (NCP), to win the parliamentary seat.
In the 1996 general election, the NPP formed an electoral alliance with the NCP, known as the Great Alliance, and elected Dr Owusu Agyekum as the alliance’s parliamentary candidate for the constituency.
The then NPP parliamentary candidate, Mr Owusu Ahenkorah, who was asked by his party to step down for Dr Owusu Agyekum as the Great Alliance Parliamentary candidate for the constituency, refused and instead, contested with Dr Owusu Agyekum.
The defiant attitude of Mr Owusu Ahenkorah was a setback for the NPP as he and Dr Owusu Agyekum split the parliamentary votes, which paved the way for Mr Lovinger Kweku Boateng, the then District Chief Executive (DCE) for Birim North, who was the NDC parliamentary candidate, to emerge victorious at the polls.
Mistakes
After realising their mistake, the NPP elected Dr Boakye Akoto as its parliamentary candidate for the 2000 election and marshalled all forces behind him to win the seat for the party for the first time when he defeated Mr Lovinger Kweku Boateng, the incumbent MP.
In the 2004 general election, the NPP replaced the incumbent MP, Dr Boakye Akoto, with Madam Esther Obeng-Dapaah who defeated Mr Napoleon Asiamah, a former DCE for Birim North and the NDC parliamentary candidate, to represent the people in Parliament.
In 2008, Madam Obeng-Dapaah again beat the NDC parliamentary candidate, Ms Grace Omaboe aka Maame Dokono of Obra fame, to retain her parliamentary seat.
In the 2012 general election, Madam Obeng-Dapaah made light work of Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong, the then DCE for Birim North, who was the NDC parliamentary candidate.
Sharp contrast
The result was in sharp contrast with the NPP presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who defeated President John Dramani Mahama, the NDC presidential candidate, by 19,173 votes to 12,404. The difference was 6,769 votes.
Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong is once again contesting the parliamentary seat with 45-year-old Mr Osei-Frimpong, who was the Special Assistant to Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo when he was the Minister of Finance/Education.
The two contestants are struggling 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.
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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.
Prediction
In an interview, Mr Osei-Frimpong predicted to secure about 75 per cent of the total 43,000 votes of the constituency come December 7, 2016.
He said Ms Ama Frimpong, who had been a DCE for two years, the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister for three years and the substantive Regional Minister for one year, had failed to use her influential position to bring development to the area.
Mr Osei-Frimpong said as a grass-roots person who was in constant touch with the people, he always listened to their concerns and had been trying to find solutions to their concerns even though he was not an MP.
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He stressed that the differences that affected the fortunes of Madam Obeng-Dapaah and consequently her parliamentary votes in 2012 had been amicably resolved, adding that all was set for a resounding presidential and parliamentary victory for the NPP and him come December 7, 2016.
Launching her campaign at New Abirem recently, Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong stressed that she was counting on the popularity and achievements of the NDC and the numerous development projects she and the NDC government had undertaken across the length and breadth of the country of which the Abirem Constituency was no exception, as her trump card to win the parliamentary seat.
The projects include electrification, modern school blocks, CHPS compounds and the tarring of the New Abirem town roads, which is an extension of the main New Abirem-Nkawkaw road.
Will Ms Frimpong be second time lucky or will it be the turn of a new entrant, Mr Osei Fimpong? Let’s see the electorate decide on December 7, 2016.
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