Twenty-One Parliamentary aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have filed their nomination forms to contest in eight orphan constituencies in the Eastern Region.
Interestingly the former Members of Parliament for Ayensuano, Upper Manya Krobo and Akwatia constituencies respectively, Samuel Ayeh-Paye, Joseph Tetteh, aka Joe Tee, and Mercy Adu-Gyamfi aka Ama Sey have bounced back, filing to contest the seat which was snatched by the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2016 general elections with its Parliamentary Candidate for Upper Manya Krobo Joseph Tetteh made history by winning the Krobo Constituency seat which has been a preserve of the NDC since 1992.
The NPP snatched the seat from the NDC MP, Jeff Tetteh Kavianu, with 13,920 votes as against 10,544 votes.
But the NPP victory was shortlived as the seat was lost to the NDC, in the 2020 general elections.
However, the former MP has rescinded his decision not to contest the upcoming parliamentary primaries again as he solely picked the forms to run unopposed.
The former MP, Samuel Ayeh-Paye, for Ayensuano, who gave the NPP traditional seat to the opposition National Democratic Congress, Teddy Saforo Addi in the 2020 parliamentary elections with 19,211 representing 47.3% against 18,970 representing 46.7% out of the 54,191 registered voters has staged a comeback.
Over the weekend, Ayeh – Paye filed his forms to contest with four others namely, Ida Adjoa Asiedu, Addo Kwasi, Mark Okraku Mantey, and Boateng Adonai Kinglesy who are seriously campaigning to get the delegates to endorse them to win the upcoming party contest.
In the Akwatia for instance, the former MP, Mercy Adu-Gyamfi, lost her second chance to contest as the parliamentary candidate for the area during the party contest to one Ernest Kumi who lost the Parliamentary seat to the NDC in the 2020 general elections.
In a statement cited by DGN Online, three women and 18 men are in the race to contest the ticket of the party in the Region.
The eight orphan constituencies are; Ayensuano – 5, Akwatia – 3, Lower Manya Krobo – 3, Upper Manya Krobo – 1, Asuogyaman – 4, Afram Plains South- 2, Afram Plains North – 2, and Yilo Krobo – 1 candidates respectively.
BY Daniel Bampoe