allAfrica.com: Ghana: But Aspiring Okai-Koi Parliamentarian Says, "No Fears!" (Page 1 of 1)

This weekend the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in many constituencies around the country would be holding primaries to select parliamentary candidates for this year's general elections. These would include constituencies with sitting MPs as well as the so called "orphan constituencies".

In some of the constituencies, tension is extremely high and the contestants are not on talking terms. They are openly hostile to one another and ominous references to "skirt and blouse" have been heard in some of these constituencies.

Skirt and blouse was a phenomenon in Election 2004 in which disenchanted party members would vote for the presidential candidate and ditch the parliamentary candidate. In Okai-Koi North, one of the strongholds of the NPP in the Greater Accra Region, skirt and blouse voting cost the party close to 16,000 votes.

Anywhere else that would have led to a defeat, but the party's candidate, Mrs. Elizabeth Sackey was able to keep the seat. Her rival, Mr. Amankwah took away the 16,000 votes. This weekend, Okai-Koi North would be another possible skirt and blouse battleground as Mrs. Sackey, the incumbent is herself facing stiff challenge from a number of determined contestants.

ADM offices are situated in the constituency. At the time of going to press yesterday, the constituency was agog with expectation as the contestants moved from one polling area to the other to mop up any doubting delegates. The contest in this constituency is so keen that the constituency chairman resigned his position to join the contest against the incumbent.

Yesterday at lunch time, he spoke to ADM assuring party delegates that with him as the parliamentary candidate of the Okai-Koi North, there would be no skirt and blouse again in the constituency. "With me, there wouldn't be any skirt and blouse anymore in the Okai-Koi North", he said.

Mr. John Owusu Afriyie, a businessman and three times chairman of the constituency said when elected, he would bring back the 700,000 people who did not vote for the party during the 2004 elections.

"I would help bring back that 700,000 people to vote for Nana Akufo-Addo. I am very optimistic that with their votes, Nana Addo would emerge the winner of the December polls", he said.

Mr. Owusu Afriyie said the constituency needs a vibrant and visionary leader to help drive the development agenda of the constituency forward.

Such a leader must be someone who has been with the constituency for a long time and knows so much about the difficulties and challenges facing the constituency. "I think am that person who can solve the problems our constituency is facing. I have been the chairman of the constituency for 3 conservative times and been in the constituency for 36 years now. I know so much about the problems the constituency has encountered and I'm fully prepared to help solve the difficult issues in our constituency", he said.

He said, "With my experience at the chairmanship position, I am very familiar with the constituency. No one can know the constituency better than the chairman. I even helped Mr. Darko-Mensah to win the Okai-Koi North seat for the NPP in 1996 and 2000".

The constituency, he said, needs somebody who the constituents believe is their own man and a true party faithful.

Mr. Owusu Afriyie described himself as the unifier and said the constituency has developed in terms of electing candidates to represent the people in parliament.

Candidates, he said, are now chosen based on the principles of what they can do and how best they can prove themselves as the mouthpiece of the people. On the issue of other aspirants, he said they are no threat to his chances of being elected to represent the constituency. "I don't see them as a threat at all. They are no threat for me. I will be elected. I'm the people's favourite. They have assured me of their support and I believe and trust them", he said.

"As one of the pioneers of the Danquah-Busia Club (NPP) in this constituency, I have helped in terms of development in the constituency", he said. I helped in all development processes in the area irrespective of the political affiliations.

"I would also bring all 16,000 votes we lost in 2004. In this election year, we need someone who understands politics and that's what I stand for", he said.

Mr. Owusu Afriyie urged delegates not to rely on money. "Vote according to your conscience and vote wisely. Vote for me, because I'm the only person who can win the seat for you", he advised.

Close to four hundred miles away in Salaga, passions are equally high and tempers frayed where incumbent and vice presidential lobbyist, Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Saddique is locked in fierce competition with a challenger, Alhaji Issah Danjuma. In a telephone call yesterday, Alhaji Danjumah complained bitterly about what he described as the underhand and diabolical methods the incumbent is using to deny him the chance to even meet the delegates to put his case across to them. It was a very angry Alhaji Danjuma who told ADM that though he was sure of victory, Alhaji Boniface Saddique was sowing seeds of discord in the constituency for the party with his methods. He told ADM that even if "Boniface gets the nomination, he cannot win in the national elections", giving yet another hint of the dreaded skirt and blouse.

In the Eastern Region veteran Hackman Owusu Agyemang is not having it easy. It was once thought that the New Juaben constituency would always be his for the taking, but that has all changed as the younger Dr. Annor is snapping away at his heels.

Cocoa Board Chief Executive is going into the primaries in one of the Kumasi constituencies with all the resources he can muster but facing the suspicion of stalwarts of the party who see him as an outsider - even an interloper! He's been the victim of many vicious media attacks. Some people in the constituency have threatened that should he win, they would turn their backs on the party.

In Kwesimintsim in Takoradi, it is two journalists, Joe Baidoe Ansah and Nana Kofi Coomson who are staring one another down. It is not a friendly contest at all and who ever emerges winner would have come out of a very bruising bout with scars that would take a long time to heal or even never heal at all...

That in fact, is the disposition in many constituency as the ruling party prepares to retain or lose its majority in December.

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