Ayawaso Seat: I'm the bridge between the elite and the masses - John Dumelo

An aspiring NDC parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, John Dumelo, believes he is the bridge between the elite and the masses in that constituency.

Speaking in an interview on TV3‘s New Day, the actor-turned-politician believes he is more favourable in the minds of the constituents and when elected, he would be the unifying force of the two classes of people who live in Ayawaso West Wuogon.

Although the constituency covers some prime areas like East Legon, West Legon, Dzorwulu, and others, the NDC parliamentary aspirant said there are quite a number of residents who do not live in such sophisticated areas, and he will work towards bettering their lives.

“The residents who live in kiosks are a lot. To be honest with you, I think they are even more than those who live in real big houses and so that is an issue.”

John Dumelo says he has identified sanitation, employment and security as the key issues on his priority list for the constituency.

“...East Legon, West Legon, Dzowulu, Abelemkpe, Airport, that is literally the most elitist places in Ghana, so if security is not tight, then there is no point. So for security, I am going to tackle that but [as] for sanitation, it is Number One on my list.”

As part of his strategy to ensure safety, the young politician hopes to empower the security watch dogs already existing with stipends, training, and communication equipment to be able to aid the police in fighting crime in these neighborhoods.



‘Winnable seat’

When asked about his chances in the 2020 parliamentary elections, John Dumelo stated that for the first time, NDC would be in the position to win Ayawaso West Wuogon in 2020 if he is elected.

“…we could have won it; 2012 we lost it by 1,006 votes, it is just 2016 that we lost it by 10,000 votes and so if you look at the mathematics, we can win Ayawaso West Wuogon. It is an NDC seat and if we do certain things right, it is a winnable seat,” he said.

In expounding his political strategy for the constituency, John Dumelo noted that Legon campus was crucial for a victory for the NDC.

“If you take a whole look at the constituency, NDC wins in most of the electoral areas. East Legon, Dzorwulu is normally 50-50, Abelemkpe we win it, Legon is normally 50-50, Roman Ridge and Airport, we win all these areas.

“And so the attention is not really on Legon campus but the truth of the matter is that once we win Legon campus, and we win in our other strongholds, and we win in other places, I mean we will take it,” he said.

The NDC Ayawaso West Wuogon parliamentary primaries will see actor John Dumelo compete with Suzzy Afua Adoboe for the candidature on Saturday, August 24, when the NDC holds its parliamentary primaries.