Kumawu by-election: NPP clears 6 out of 8 aspirants to contest primaries

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Elections Committee responsible for the organization of the party’s Sekyere Kumawu Constituency Parliamentary primaries has cleared six (6) out of eight (8) aspiring candidates to contest for the parliamentary candidate position on Sunday 23rd April 2023.

The party opened nomination from Monday 11th – 14th April 2023 for interested party members to pick nomination forms followed by filing of nomination forms on 15th April, 2023.

Aspirants who have picked nominations forms by the close of nomination on Thursday April 14th 2023 include: Lawyer Edward Kofi Osei, Dr. Philip Bannor, Dr. Da Costa Aboagye, Mr Ernest Yaw Anim, Madam. Ama Serwaa, Mr. Kwame Appiah-Kubi, Yaw Baah former Kumawu MP unseated by the late MP and Osei Hweree Kwame Bempah.

After vetting all the 8 Parliamentary candidate hopefuls on Sunday 16th April 2023 two of the aspirant’s nomination clearance was put on hold following lack of supporting documentary evidence to back their claims when they met the committee.'

Speaking to EIB Network’ Ashanti regional Correspondent Isaac Justice Bediako, Chairman of the Kumawu NPP’s Parliamentary Primaries committee who doubles as the First Vice National Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Danquah Smith Butey said “After vetting all the 8 aspirants, we cleared 6 of them; however, we have put on hold clearance of two including Lawyer Edward Kofi Osei and Dr. Philip Bannor. The committee has requested that they submit some documents to back certain claims they made before us. We have given them up to Wednesday 19th April 2023 to do that. After which we will formally announce the final list of aspirants cleared to contest the primaries’’ he explained.

He added “all the aspirants who appear for the vetting have been told to start their campaign which we all know they have started before the vetting. Our aim is to avoid apathy therefore; everything will be done in a transparent manner’’ he assured.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, on 3rd April 2023 declared the seat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu, Philip Basoa, vacant.

The decision followed the death of Mr Basoah, 53, on March 27, 2023.

Kumawu Traditional Council

Although the Sekyere Kumawu constituency Parliamentary seat is among 43 safe seats controlled by the New Patriotic party, in the Ashanti however, the party is skeptical of retaining the safe seat following stalled developmental projects in the area which has become a major concern to the Kumawu Traditional council.

Sources among the Kumawu traditional council and the headquarters of the party have both confirmed a secret meeting between the party and the traditional council to whip public interest in the impending by-election by retaining the NPP.

“At the meeting, the traditional council demanded we construct the Kumawu to Effiduase Main road, the abandoned Kumawu district hospital project among other projects. Currently contractors are on site working on the road projects to meet the demands of the district. This is a very crucial election therefore; we will work very tactically to retain the seat for the NPP to maintain our majority group numbers in parliament’’.