The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) elections committee responsible for the organization of the party’s Sekyere Kumawu Constituency Parliamentary primaries in the Ashanti region has cleared six (6) out of eight (8) parliamentary candidate hopefuls vying to be elected as parliamentary candidate for the party ahead of Sunday 23rd April 2023 Primaries.
The party opened nomination from Monday 11th – 14th April 2023 for interested party members to pick nomination forms followed by filing of nomination forms on 15th April, 2023.
Aspirants who have picked nominations form by the close of nomination on Thursday April 14th 2023 include: Lawyer Edward Kofi Osei, Dr. Philip Bannor, Dr. Dacoster Aboagye, Mr Ernest Yaw Anim, Madam. Ama Serwaa, Mr. Kwame Appiah-Kubi, Yaw Baah former Kumawu MP unseated by the late MP and Osei Hweree Kwame Bempah.
After vetting all 8 Parliamentary candidate hopefuls on Sunday 16th April 2023 two of the aspirant’s nomination clearance was put on hold following a lack of supporting documentary evidence to back their claims when they met the committee.
Speaking to EIB news Ashanti regional Correspondent Isaac Justice Bediako, Chairman of the Kumawu NPP’s Parliamentary Primaries committee who doubles as the First Vice National Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Danquah Smith Butey said.
“After vetting all the 8 aspirants we cleared 6 of them; however, we have put clearance of two including Lawyer Edward Kofi Osei and Dr. Philip Bannor. The committee has requested that they submit some documents to back certain claims they made before us. We have given them up to Wednesday 19th April 2023 to do that. After which we will formally announce the final list of aspirants cleared to contest the primaries’’ he explained.
He added “All the aspirants who appear for the vetting have been told to start their campaign which we all know they have started before the vetting. Our aim is to avoid apathy therefore; everything will be done in a transparent manner’’ he assured.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, on 3rd April 2023 declared the seat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu, Philip Basoa, vacant.
The decision followed the death of Mr Basoah, 53, on March 27, 2023.
Kumawu Traditional Council
Although the Sekyere Kumawu constituency Parliamentary seat is among 43 safe seats controlled by the New Patriotic party, in the Ashanti however, the party is skeptical of retaining the safe seat following stalled developmental projects in the area which had become a significant concern to the Kumawu Traditional council.
EIB News sources among the Kumawu traditional council and the headquarters of the party have both confirmed a secret meeting between the party and the traditional council to whip public interest in the pending by-election by retaining the NPP instead of electing NPP MP for the Kumawu NPP traditional seat.
“At the meeting, the traditional council demanded we construct the Kumawu to Effiduase Main road, the abandoned Kumawu district hospital project among other projects. Currently, contractors are on site working on the road projects to meet the district’s demands. This is a very crucial election therefore; we will work very tactically to retain the seat for the NPP to maintain our majority group numbers in parliament’’.
