Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Enoch Teye Mensah has dismissed claims that his last minute decision to back out of the Council of State elections was due to fear of defeat in the elections.

According to him, he would have won hands down should he have contested in the elections adding that, the massive support he had from some delegates and NDC party members would have earned him a place in the Council of state but for his decision to resign due to personal reasons.

“I can give you the list of the delegates that were rooting for me and so if anybody thinks that because I was going to lose that’s why I pulled out, it’s absolutely not correct, I would have cleared it”, he stated.

Speaking on JoyNews current affairs and news analysis program; the Pulse, E.T Mensah indicated that the assertions are “totally wrong”, and that his decision to back out at the last minute was based on the council of his grandchildren among other things.

He explained that his grandchildren expressed displeasure about the many insults that surfaced on social media following his decision to contest for the Greater Accra Region slot in the Council of State elections. They advised him to withdraw since his bid to serve was generating negative reactions from the public.

“I decided to withdraw because of my grandchildren, some grandchildren in the U.S, they picked some of the insults, some of the things that were said, they had no idea, they spoke to their daddies, and the first grandson and the younger ones all signed, they said “Grandpa, this is not worth it, you want to serve and when people engage in this kind of mischief, why should you? I was touched by the young ones, so you have to listen to them”, he explained.

E.T Mensah stated that aside the immense support he had from members of the Council of Elders of the NDC, Greater Accra Region, and members of the NDC Ga-Adamgbe group, his experience and expertise in the political field was ample qualification for him to have won a slot as a representative for the Greater Accra Region at the Council of State. According to him, the “mischief” being played out by some persons also contributed partly to his withdrawal from the race.

“it is absolutely wrong, I’ve won several elections, I’ve been a Member of Parliament for 20 years, won elections and I’ve ran various races left and right and I go into them and win, before I sit and do my analysis….the mischief was too much”, he said

Enoch Teye Mensah came under massive criticism after he made public his intents to join in the race as a representative for the Greater Accra Region at the Council of State.

Few days after the public announcement, ET Mensah registered his decision to “back out” citing the reason for his last-minute decision as personal. In a letter written by him on Wednesday February 15 2017 and addressed to the Regional Electoral Director of the Electoral Commission, he stated;

“I wish to inform you of my decision to withdraw from the council of state slot for the Greater Accra Region. My reason for withdrawing from the race is personal. Thank you for your kind consideration.”