Takoradi, Nov. 28, GNA- A total of Sixty-two persons from eight political parties filed their nomination for the Parliamentary race in the Western Region to contest for the 7th December general elections.
The 62 include two Independent Candidates who filed their nomination for the Parliamentary race to contest in the December 07, general elections.
They are Madam Joy Joycelin Andoh who hitherto contested in the NPP primaries for the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constituency and Madam Samia Nkrumah Nyameke who had won the seat before for the CPP in the Jomoro Constituency.
Eight political parties featured candidates to contest in the Parliamentary race in the region – NPP, NDC, PPP, GUM, NDP, CPP, GCPP, and APC.
Of the 62 Parliamentary Candidates, nine are females with two going as Independent Candidates.
The EC registered 1,185,315 people during the compilation of the new voters’ register out of the 1.2 million people expected to register with the Commission in the Region.
This figure however does not include the one-day registration and the vote transfer exercises to enable those who could not take part in the formal exercise and students who were registered while in school and had returned home respectively.
Out of the total registered number, 599,658 are males and 585,657 females, with 3,655 persons with disabilities.
At the end of the six-phase exercise, 878,061 used their Ghana card to register, and 9,557 passports holders were recorded were. About 1,248 people were challenged and 297,697 registered through guarantors.
This means that the over 1,185,315 registered voters would have to choose among the 62 candidates to decide who they want to represent them in Parliament in the December polls.
Comparatively, each candidate is expected to garner at least 19,117 votes as an equal share among them.
Some have been able to secure more votes beyond the figure in previous elections but with the new entrants on board, they would have to work harder.
Since the Western Region was split, there has been a new set of elements that could influence the chances of both the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The new faces, some of whom are much exposed to Ghanaian politics and others new to the political landscape, would have their constituencies being a target for a serious competition. But for both political parties, these persons have been elected to contest in their respective constituencies.
One of such new candidates is the NDC’s Mr Frederick F. Faidoo (Esq) of the Takoradi Constituency to contest the NPP’s Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah (incumbent) who also doubles as the Western Regional Minister and was elected into office in 2008, having maintained his seat for a third time.
Meanwhile, the Takoradi Constituency is one of the domineering and secured seats for the NPP in the Western Region and has always been falling for the NPP since its creation.
GNA