NPP confirms wife of murdered Mfantseman MP as parliamentary candidate

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has settled on Ophelia Hayford to succeed her murdered husband Ekow Quansah Hayford as the parliamentary candidate for the Mfantseman Constituency.

In a letter sighted by Ghanaweb, the party called on the Electoral Commission to allow a 10-day extension of the nomination period within which the wife of the late Ekow Quansah Hayford would file her nomination.

This is in accordance to portions of C1 127 which states “Where at the close of the nomination, but before the election one of the candidate dies, a further period of 10 days shall be allowed for nominations.”

The Member of Parliament for Mfantseman Constituency, Ekow Quansah Hayford, was shot by suspected armed robbers on the Abeadze Dominase–Abeadze Duadzi–Mankessim road while returning from a campaign trip on Friday, October 9, 2020, around 1:00 am.

It was reported that despite indicating that he was an MP when he was attacked, the assailants went ahead to shoot him.

During Akufo-Addo’s visit to the house of the late MP, on Monday, the people chanted “No Wife, No Vote” as a sign of solidarity and support for her.

While the executive of the constituency decided on nominating his wife to contest, the National Executive Council earlier said a decision was yet to be made.

However, a letter to the EC by the party confirms NEC has decided to allow the wife of the late MP Ophelia Hayford to contest the Mfantseman Constituency seat.