NDC HOLDS PRIMARIES IN 22 CONSTITUENCIES IN BA (PAGE 17)

Story: Samuel Duodu, Techiman

THE National Democratic Congress (NDC) has so far held primaries in 22 constituencies, out of the 24 in the Brong Ahafo Region, to elect parliamentary candidates to contest on the ticket of the party for the December 2008 general election.
The remaining two constituencies, where primaries are yet to be held, are Sene and Sunyani West constituencies.
The NDC parliamentary candidates who were elected to contest were Mr Masoud Baba Abdul Rahman, Pru Constituency; Mr Opoku Atuahene Tano North; Mr Kwadwo Adjei Dwomoh, Nkoranza North; Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, Tain; Eric Addai, Asutifi North; Alhaji Collins Dauda, Asutifi South; Mr Mohammed Kwaku Doku, Asunafo North; Mr Eric Opoku, Asunafo South; Mr Justice Samuel Adjei, Sunyani East and Mr Addai Simmons, Techiman South.
Others are Mr Alex Kyeremeh, Techiman North; Mr Asum Ahesah, Jaman North; Mr Vincent Asamoah, Dormaa West; Mr I.K. Kyeremeh, Dormaa East; Nana Yaw, Wenchi; Emmanuel Owusu Manu for Atebubu/Amantin and Mr Peter Kobina Ankomah, Jaman South Constituency.
The rest are Mr Emanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, Nkoranza South; Stephen Kuusu, Kintampo North; Mr Effah Baafi, Kintampo South; Mr Stephen Oppong, Berekum and Mr Kwadwo Owusu Agyeman, Tano South Constituency.
Talking to journalists in Techiman, Mr John Owusu Agyemang, the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the NDC, said the party was firmly on the ground and had put in place effective strategies to enable it to win not less than 20 out of the 24 seats in the region.
He said the party won 10 seats in the 2004 elections, and this time around, it was poised to win 10 out of the 14 ‘orphaned’ constituencies in the region.
Mr Agyemang mentioned the ‘orphaned’ constituencies where the party would win as Dormaa West, Jaman South, Tain, Nkoranza North and South, Tano North and South, Asunafo North and Berekum.
The remaining constituencies are Wenchi, Dormaa East, Asutifi North and Sunyani East.
He said the NDC would give the NPP the toughest fight ever, saying if they were going to win those seats, it was going to be a hard-won victory.
Mr Agyemang disclosed that the party retained most of its sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) in the region, except that of Sene, where two other personalities, namely Mr Twumasi Ampofo and Dominic Napare had filed to contest.
He explained that the primary for the Sene Constituency had been delayed as a result of some differences between the sitting MP and the party’s constituency chairman, saying that once it had been resolved, the date would be fixed for the primary.
Mr Agyemang said the problem at the Sene Constituency was about the list of delegates who were qualified to vote at the primary, and once that was resolved, the primary would come off in no distant time.
He called on the party’s foot soldiers to intensify their house-to-house campaign, since all indications pointed to the fact that the NDC was the government in-waiting; but that could materialise only through hard work.