By Edward Acquah
Accra, Jan. 27, GNA – Ms Sheila Bartels, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North, says the New Patriotic Party is on the right track to recover the seats it lost in the Greater Accra Region in the 2020 General Election.
In her view, the decision of the Party to disqualify “less” people and allow incumbent MPs to be contested would unify the Party and eliminate grievances that could undermine the Party’s efforts.
She made the remarks in an interview after engaging delegates at the Ablekuma North Constituency voting centre at Odorkor in Accra.
“One of the things the Party has done is to allow the people voices to count. In the last election a lot of the MPs were unopposed and people felt that they haven’t been given the chance to express their democratic rights. so this time, the Party took a queue from that and has allowed more people to go on the Party’s ticket.
“This time it takes a lot to be disqualified. I think the Party is on the right track to recover the seats it lost,” Ms Bartels said.
The NPP currently holds 14 seats in the Greater Accra Region. In the 2020 General Election, the Party lost 7 seats in the region.
The Ablekuma North Constituency is one of the “safe seats” of the NPP. The Party has retained the seat since 1996.
Ms Bartels, who won the seat in 2020, and is seeking to run again on the ticket of the NPP, faces fierce competition from Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh, a former MP for Ablekuma North, who served from 2016 to 2020.
The election has thus far been peaceful without any major incident.
About 1,450 delegates are expected to cast their ballots by the close of polls at 14:00 hours.
As of 10:40 hours, many delegates queued at the entrance of the voting centre, waiting to be ushered into the voting area.
Ms Bartels said she was satisfied with the processes thus far and expressed confidence that she would emerge victorious.
GNA