A total of six parliamentary aspirants in the Tema District of the Electoral Commission (EC) have been disqualified for various reasons.
Most of the aspirants were disqualified because they failed to meet the commission’s deadline for the submission of the GH¢10,000 filing fee while others did not complete the nomination process and were said to be voters outside the constituencies.
All parliamentary aspirants of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) were able to complete the nomination process.
A total of 12 aspirants from five political parties filed nominations to contest for the four parliamentary seats in the area, including the Kpone-Katamanso constituency.
Out of the total number, two persons were contesting as independent candidates.
However, there was a sign of relief for all the aspirants whose forms had been received, as they were said to have been passed by the Tema EC.
Nana Oduro Numapau, Tema Metropolitan Electoral Officer, told DAILY GUIDE that albeit seven people picked the nomination forms to compete for the Tema West seat, only five candidates were able to file them.
He added that two out of three independent candidates were unable to pay their filing fees to complete the process.
Tema East, according to the EC boss, had a candidate disqualified because the aspirant was unable to submit the nomination forms and pay the filing fee on time.
Nana Oduro Numapau disclosed that persons representing four parties picked the forms but three of them namely, NPP, NDC and CPP, were able to sail through.
He further stated that All People’s Congress (APC) in Tema Central was disqualified because of various reasons.
At the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency, Mrs. Doris Emefa Agbezuhlor, the District Officer of the EC, in an interview via telephone, said that four candidates out of the six who picked the forms sailed through the process.
The qualified candidates’ names were mentioned as the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo (NDC), Solomon Tetteh Appiah (NPP), Stanley Kwaku Klen (PPP) and an independent candidate, Pearl Agyemang.
According to her, an independent aspirant was disqualified alongside the APC candidate, Ibrahim Sumani, who was kicked out for not being a voter in the constituency, among others.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema