Ursula clears first hurdle...But constituency Executive members resign
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma West, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has cleared the first hurdle of getting elected as the party’s parliamentary candidate but has the task of mending a divided front ahead of the November 7 elections.
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A loud cheer met her being declared the winner of the contest that had been fraught with a nine-month delay occasioned by confusion over two registers used for the election.
13 members resign
The night before the elections, 13 polling station executive members of the constituency resigned.
Held at the Dansoman Police Station, probably to ensure maximum security and to calm tensions, the primary was characterised by heavy police presence with metal barriers used to cordon the election area.
The MP obtained 554 votes to beat her only contender, Mr Robert Kwesi Hayfron Nicol, who amassed 317 votes. There were five rejected ballots. Eight hundred and seventy-six delegates voted in the primary in which 1,168 voters were expected to cast their ballot.
A third candidate who is also a former Chairman of the Constituency, Mr Theophilus Tettey, pulled out of the race and is said to be contemplating going independent.
Controversial primary
Beneath the veneer of jubilation after the polls lays a divided front as allegations of manipulations of the process in favour of the incumbent MP surfaced.
The day was not without controversy. Mrs Owusu-Ekuful who had arrived early in order to cast her vote could not find her name in the register. But cool heads prevailed and she was allowed to cast her ballot.
Some delegates insisted that the use of two registers in the election was endorsed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NPP to give the incumbent MP an advantage.
While supporters of Mr Tetteh accused the party of allowing Mrs Owusu-Ekuful to compile a register that highly favoured her, her followers also accused the former constituency chairman of assembling a register that failed to capture the names of those who opposed his chairmanship bid.
The count
Although the party had given 3.00 p.m. to end the polls, it came to an end at 3.40 p.m.
Even before the last ballot was counted, Mr Nicol, who was in an all-white shirt and trousers with an NPP flag around his neck, conceded defeat and graciously raised the arms of his opponent to signify her victory.
As if to console himself, he whispered into the ears of Mrs Owusu-Ekuful “I did well.” She agreed, nodding and shaking his hand.
Minutes before that the two candidates arrived at the polling station together while the sorting of the ballots was going on.
Bespectacled and also draped in all white trousers and top, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful took her seat around the counting table, watching every single ballot.
As her pile of votes increased during the sorting period, she periodically stole glances at her opponent who was standing. He had a white handkerchief in hand, occasionally wiping the beads of sweat that the day’s heat was causing his face to produce. Once in a while, he tapped his feet on the ground, perhaps to ward off the tension.
While the counting was going on, some of the party faithful took turns to tease the contenders, with one saying: “If you lose, don’t worry. It’s only today that you can’t and also have sleepless night. From tomorrow you will feel better and sleep well.”
Victory speech
When the Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr Kwame Amoah, declared Mrs Owusu-Ekuful the winner, the crowd went agog, singing and dancing.
The crowd’s screams went decibels higher when Mr Amoah raised the hands of the candidate-elect to signify her victory in the elections.
In her victory speech, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful rallied the party’s supporters in the constituency to unite to retain the seat.
“It is time for us to come together to retain the seat and maximise the votes for our presidential candidate,” she said.
She commended her opponent for giving her a stiff competition and said: “He did well and had a few more votes than I expected. NPP is winning the general election. I am looking forward to the NDC members joining us because they know the calibre of Member of Parliament they have. I thank every member of my team who has been part of the hard work and everybody who contributed to the victory,” she added.
The crowd gave the police officers and a group of security men a hectic time as they escorted Mrs Owusu-Ekuful to her car.
Defeated candidate
Mr Nicole, who was full of smiles, told the media that he had accepted the result.
“The most important thing now is to back the winner and ensure that our presidential candidate receives massive votes to win the elections.”
He said the primary was his first and had opened his eyes to a lot of things which he would handle easily if he decided to contest again in another election.
The Ablekuma West Constituency is among the 45 constituencies created in 2012 and covers areas including Dansoman, Gbegbeyise, Sahara, Agege and Shiabu.
In 2012, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful trounced her closest contender, Ms Victoria Hamah of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), by almost 11,000 votes to win the seat.
She polled 36,975 votes, representing 58.22 per cent while Ms Hamah had 26,153 (41.18 per cent). Others in that race were Perry Senyo (Progressive People’s Party)— 291 votes (0.46 per cent); Daniel Noye, People’s National Convention; 55 votes (0.09 per cent) and Magnus Asiamah Bekoe of the National Democratic Party, 40 votes representing 0.06 per cent.
