Political stakes at Odododiodoo as four contenders vie for NPP bid

Only six days after the opening of nominations for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries in the "orphan" constituencies of the country, the political stakes are high in one of the hottest constituencies in the Greater Accra region, Odododiodoo .

This is due to the fact; a former parliamentary candidate, a former member of Parliament, and two new entrants all tie their shoes to win the position of party representative in the 2020 elections.

Those who have declared their intention to challenge the primaries are the 2016 election candidate, Nii Lantey Banarman, who is now Executive Secretary of the Fuel Committee, Lawyer Reginald Nii Bi Aryee Bontey, who was a member of the constituency Parliament, Boxing Promoter and a businessman, Michael Nii Yarboi Annan and a Reverend Atwere who is based in the United States.

The winner will face the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NEC), who is also outgoing MP from the constituency, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, who has been declared unopposed to compete for the third time in a row.

The NPP occupies twenty of the thirty-three seats in the Greater Accra region, while the main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has thirteen.

The spokesman of the CEO of Dons Promotion, Michael Nii Yarboi Annan, also former secretary of the Odododiodio constituency, Samuel Ofosu, in an interview with Yen Sempa of Onua FM, led by Bright Kwasi Asempa, on Friday. reasons why his boss decided to venture into politics, explained that "politics is a vocation".

"He did not say it, but under the pressure of youth, people and leaders, he has no choice but to challenge the siege because he helped the youth and the party in different ways, "he said.

Mr. Ofosu said: "The pressure is coming not only from Odododiodio, but also from other constituencies for the protest to take place in this constituency, and I urge delegates to vote in favor of it. for him to be a candidate in the 2020 elections and win the seat of the CND ".

"We need a candidate that the opponent will respect. We need a great candidate because the NDC approached him to challenge him and he refused. "

The spokeswoman said: "We are not only dealing with the NPP … but with the entire constituency, so we need someone that all political parties will appreciate and vote for."

"In Odododiodio, people vote against and do not vote for. If you offend them and say that they will vote against you, they will not look at the other candidate, they will vote against you. He financed the 2016 campaign and we managed to reduce the vote to 9,000 different votes. "

Mr Ofosu revealed that most members of the NPP in the constituency were afraid to go to the center of the Odododiodio coalition. Yet, Yarboi Annan was there in 2016 to ensure the success of the coalition of the results of the presidential and legislative elections.

"Odododiodio is a fearful place in politics but he was at the center of the coalition in the 2016 elections, so he does not want to adhere to other calls to run in other constituencies than in Odododiodio and we are going to we fight at the seat in the 2020 elections, "he badured.

Party arrangements
Nominations for the parliamentary primaries of the NPP in the "orphan" constituencies of the country were opened on Saturday, July 20 and will end on August 3, 2019. These aspirants have already chosen their forms.

Orphan constituencies refer to ridings where the MPN has no MPs.

On September 28, 2019, the party will proceed to the election of candidates for parliamentary elections in constituencies where there is no MP in Parliament.

Elected MPs in these regions, often referred to as "orphan constituencies" in the country's political circles, will represent the party in the 2020 legislative elections.

However, the parliamentary primaries in constituencies where the party has sitting members have been postponed to a later date.

The party will also hold parliamentary primaries simultaneously for these constituencies on September 28, 2019.

According to the party's secretary general, John Boadu, a candidate in a parliamentary election would choose nomination forms at a non-refundable cost of 2,000 GH as a banker.

To successfully file an application form, the applicant will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit fee of 20 000 GH ¢.

However, in order to encourage more women, youth and people with reduced mobility to access higher political positions, these potential candidates in parliament will benefit from a 50% discount on fees. deposit, which means that they will have to pay a non-refundable deposit fee of 10,000 GH ¢.