By Edward Acquah
Accra, Jan. 23, GNA- Parliamentary aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ablekuma North Constituency are busily rounding up their campaigns this week, with the hope of convincing delegates to choose them as suitable candidates for the big task ahead.
For a constituency that has been touted as the ‘bread basket’ of the NPP in the Greater Accra Region since 1996, the parliamentary primary is a keen contest in that the chances of the Party’s candidate winning the main parliamentary election on December 7 are highly probable.
Keen contest
This time, two astute female politicians – a sitting member of Parliament in the person of Ms Sheila Bartels and Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh, a former MP for Ablekuma North and Ghana’s Deputy Ambassador to China, will battle it out again in a contest tipped to be fiercely competitive.
Nana Afriyieh, who lost the seat to Ms Bartels in the 2020 primaries, is seeking to make what she describes as “the golden comeback”, having represented the people in Parliament from 2016 to 2020.
Ms Bartels, daughter of Mr Kwamena Bartels, who is the longest-serving MP for Ablekuma North (1996-2008), is hopeful to consolidate the gains recorded in the last three years as MP for the area and build on her political successes.
A total of 1, 460 delegates in addition to 51 executives, coordinators, and Council of Elders and patrons are expected to vote on Saturday.
Whereas supporters of Ms Bartels tout her investment in human resource development and easy accessibility as among the basis to justify her re-election, faithful of Nana Afriyieh proclaim her humility and positive interpersonal relationship as grounds for her return.
In the 2020 primaries, Ms Bartels garnered 518 votes whiles Nana Afriyieh, the then incumbent MP, secured 315 votes.
Two other contestants, John Agbotey and Kwadwo Adjei-Barwuah got 20 and 88 votes respectively.
The renewal of the battle between the two women has generated a mixture of excitement and anxiety among the NPP in the constituency.
Background
The Ablekuma North Constituency has been in existence since 1992. Areas under the jurisdiction of Ablekuma North include Kwashieman, Hong Kong, Kokompe, Darkuman, Nyamekye and parts of Dansoman.
Apart from 1992 that the National Democratic Congress’ candidate, Adam Baako Nortey Yeboah clinched the seat for the first time, the NPP has enjoyed monopoly of the seat for close to three decades.
The NPP’s Kwamena Bartels snatched the seat from the NDC in 1996 and retained the seats for three consecutive terms until 2008.
Another NPP candidate, Justice Joe Appiah, took the baton and won two consecutive elections – 2008 and 2012.
In 2016, Nana Afriyie maintained the NPP’s dominance and secured the seat, but could only do that for one term.
In a surprising turn of events, Sheila Bartels won the primaries and proceeded to win the seat in the 2020 elections.
The Party’s expectations
The Ablekuma North NPP has targeted increasing the Party’s winning margin by at least 50,000 votes in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
In the 2020 election, the Party won the parliamentary seat with a margin of about 25,000 votes, securing about 65 per cent of the total votes cast.
Mr Fredrick Green, Secretary, Ablekuma North NPP, said the Party was confident that the delegates would choose a formidable candidate that would build on past achievements to achieve its target for 2024.
He said the Party’s Album was in good shape and appealed to the delegates to show up on the voting day and contribute to the democratic processes of the Party.
“The candidate that we are hoping to get is solid and at the end of the day it is likely that the margin we are looking for will be actualised,” Mr Green said.
Aspirants confident
In an interview with the GNA, Ms Bartels said her key focus had been human development and road infrastructure, adding that she was confident the strong relationship she had built with the delegates would guarantee her re-election.
She said her target was to secure at least 750 votes on Saturday and rallied delegates to “appreciate continuity” to advance the progress of the constituency.
“This year, I want to set up a resource centre for the community and make sure that we support the young people and the elderly as well; that is going to be my legacy project,” Ms Bartels said.
Nana Afriyieh told the GNA that her return was motivated by her passion to serve the Party and the people, adding that the delegates themselves rooted for her comeback.
“What I have gained as an Ambassador, I want to bring it back to serve my people and to add up to the quality and the exposure that I have acquired,” she said.
“I am very hardworking, humble and I unite people all the time. The constituents’ themselves are rooting for my comeback and so it has motivated me to be with them,” she added.
Implications for Party
The NPP is seeking to retain and build upon the 14 seats it currently occupies in the Greater Accra Region.
The Ablekuma North seat is most likely already in the bag if history favours the NPP in the December 7 polls.
The Party is also hoping to increase its presidential votes in the Greater Accra Region and thus whoever emerged candidate of the Party in Ablekuma North would have an additional responsibility to improve on the gains of 2020.
In the meantime, the battle lines have been drawn and two women, both of whom have won the seat before, will lock horns in a suspenseful contest.
GNA