Kwabena Owusu Aduomi
A former Member of Parliament for Ejisu on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, has been cleared by the Electoral Commission with five others to contest the upcoming by-election in the constituency as an Independent Parliamentary Candidate.
The former Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways who is affiliated with Alan Kyerematen’s Movement for Change intends to re-run for the seat he lost to the deceased MP, John Kumah during the NPP’s parliamentary primaries in 2020.
The Ejisu by-election in the Ashanti Region is scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
Before the nominations opened by the Electoral Commission were officially closed on Thursday, April 18, six candidates, made up of two females and four males successfully filed their nominations.
The candidates including the former NPP MP are; Esther Osei representing the Convention People’s Party (CPP) picking the number one spot followed by the NPP’s Lawyer Kwabena Boateng, Beatrice Boakye of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Gabriel Agyemang Joseph and Attakorah Joseph with both going Independent and picking 5 and 6 respectively.
He parted ways with the NPP citing mistreatment during the ruling NPP’s 2023 presidential primaries.
In a statement released by his campaign aide, Nana Osei Bonsu, on April 12, 2024, the former MP, Aduomi cited concerns over the handling of the party’s delegates album and other irregularities in the election process as reasons for his decision to run independently.
According to him, “This decision is prompted by the failure of the National Leadership of the NPP to address critical issues regarding the existing delegate album, which strikes at the core of party integrity and fairness’’.
The former MP, also criticized the conduct of the Ejisu polling station executive elections, alleging irregularities and a disregard for democratic processes.
“The genesis of this decision dates back to the turbulent Ejisu polling station executive elections, characterized by irregularities that would be deemed unacceptable in any democratic society. Instead of following due democratic process, the late MP of Ejisu, with the support of the regional executives of the NPP, handpicked individuals for key positions—a clear violation of the party’s constitution and fundamental principles,” he added.
He first secured his parliamentary seat in Ejisu during the 2008 general elections and retained the seat in both the 2012 and 2016 elections but was unsuccessful in his party’s primaries in 2020.
-BY Daniel Bampoe