Politics of Thursday, 11 May 2023

Source: GNA

Over 1,600 delegates to vote in Ningo-Prampram NDC primaries

Sam Nartey George, Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Constituency Sam Nartey George, Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Constituency

A total of 1,675 delegates are expected to vote in the May 13, 2023, National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries in the Ningo Prampram Constituency to either retain the incumbent or vote for a new parliamentary candidate.

The contest is between Sam Nartey George, the two-term incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), and Michael Kwetey Nartey, a former Constituency Chairman of the party.

The two contested for the MP candidature in a fierce contest in 2019, during which the incumbent MP won the primaries with just seven votes and subsequently went ahead to retain the seat in the 2020 general elections.

Moses Kutor, the Ningo-Prampram Constituency Secretary of the Party, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency, said the number of delegates was made up of all branch executives, constituency executives, and former appointees who participated and voted in the constituency conference.

Kutor said all was set for the elections to take place at the New Ningo D/A Primary Basic ‘B’ School Park.

He urged the aspirants and their followers to conduct the last leg of their campaigns with decorum, reminding them that the NDC party was a great party that must be projected in a good light.

“The NDC Party is a great party, so we should all do a decent campaign devoid of insults and attacks so that we can have successful primaries to prepare the party and make it formidable to win the election in 2024,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, opinions are divided on who would carry the day at the primaries, as some believe the majority of the delegates would reward the incumbent by voting massively for him, and others also believe that it would not be an easy park to walk for the incumbent

Sam Nartey George, also known as ‘Sam Dzata George’, the incumbent, is known to be a firebrand on the political front and at the forefront of the advocators of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, also known as the ‘anti-gay bill’.

Michael Kwetey Nartey, a businessman who served as a constituency chairman and resigned to contest for the nomination in 2019, also placed second when he contested for the NDC Greater Accra Regional Elections in 2022.

The Ghana News Agency, however, gathered that the dynamics in the constituency elections had changed, as the 2019 elections had a little over 900 delegates on the register, out of which 807 voted, compared to the current 1,675.

It had also emerged that the hitherto 93 branches have been expanded to 193, with 186 being very active.

These additional branches, which the GNA picked up, were setup with the help of the incumbent MP, making political watchers believe that the delegates would vote to reward him.