The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr. Yohane Amarh Ashitey has filed his nomination to contest as unopposed candidate for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Tema East Constituency parliamentary candidate position.
Mr. Ashitey, amidst drumming and dancing by party faithful accompanying him, went on a procession throughout the street of Tema Newtown for hours before eventually reaching the party office and filing the nomination.
To announce his intention to lead the people of Tema East into the 2024 elections, giant billboards of him have been mounted in the constituency to serve as a reminder to the people.
Mr. Ashitey, after filing the nomination, said his going unopposed was an indication that the party was united in the constituency, something that was very important to spearhead a win come 2024.
“We have become united in the constituency; yes, we had some issues, but you can see that all the factions are here supporting me, indicating that the seat that we have lost, we will take it back,” he said.
According to him, the party lost the constituency seat to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Election 2020 due to some misunderstanding among its members, adding that currently the situation is different, and they are poised to take the seat back.
He challenged Mr. Isaac Ashai Odamtten, the current Member of Parliament, to “stand well,” as he was coming with a united people to recapture the seat from him.
Nene Ofoe Agbadiagba, the Tema East NPP Constituency Chairperson, said the executives followed the laws of the party on requirements for picking and filing nominations in the orphaned constituency elections.
Nene Agbadiagba said having only one person contest was a good thing for the party, as that would help close the ranks among the members to form a formidable force to face their major contender, the NDC.
He said they have learnt their lessons from their experiences from the 2020 elections, owing to the party now having only one candidate to ensure a united front going into the 2024 elections.
“I want to appeal to the NPP faithful in Tema East that the party is bigger than any individual, so let’s unite and take our seat back, because in 2024, NPP will break the eight; we want NPP Tema East to be part of that history; that’s why we have only one candidate; let’s close our ranks,” he added.
Nene Sackitey, the Constituency Secretary, said the MCE, after a successful filing, would go through vetting, after which a constituency conference would be summoned where a popular acclamation would be declared for him to become the party’s parliamentary candidate for election 2024.
He said after the popular acclamation, they would engage in a few stakeholder engagements, including religious, youth groupings, and others, concurrently building a formidable force to enable them to compete well in the coming elections.
“We are not just participating in an election; we are saying that any party that does not win power is a pressure group. For us, we are a political party that wants to win. We have two elections to compete in, the presidential and parliamentary.
“Our main goal and target are to win both; nothing will stop us from achieving our goal; we are going to reclaim our seat; it is coming home, and it will really come; we will celebrate with you,” he added.
He reiterated that the major shortfall for them in the last elections was not being able to build the party’s cohesion and unity to have a formidable force, as they were divided and a lot of politics and social media battling against each other went on.
He acknowledged that being in opposition was bitter, as according to him, the constituency has tasted opposition while in power, therefore they would do their best to unseat the MP, whom they said the election would be centred on his failed promises to the people.