Two Independent MP-elect roots for Nana Akufo-Addo

Two of the four independent candidates with NPP roots who got elected into the next Parliament of Ghana have made public pronouncements on their roles in the upcoming presidential run- off, with one declaring support for the NPP and the other opting for a neutral role.

Nana Yaw Edward Ofori-Kuragu, the independent member-elect for Bosome-Freho in the Ashanti Region, declared his full support for the NPP presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the December 28 presidential run-off, but the independent member-elect for Nkawkaw, Mr Seth Adjei-Baah aka Shaaba said he would remain neutral.

Mr Ofori-Kuragu called on Ghanaians to rally behind Nana Akufo-Addo to win the presidential contest in order to bring the needed socio-economic transformation to the country.

In a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Ofori-Kuragu, who is the incumbent MP, said, "I campaigned on the premise that if I win I will throw my support behind the NPP in Parliament. I am only an independent because there was some misunderstanding during the NPP primary in the constituency."

He said his constituents voted for him because he was a member of the NPP and there was no question as to whom he was going to back. "Even if the NPP goes into opposition I will join them," he told the Daily Graphic, and gave the hint that he had already started campaigning vigorously for Nana Akufo-Addo.

"I am urging all Ghanaians who did not vote in the December 7 elections to vote for Nana Akufo-Addo. I also call on party supporters to embark on house-to-house campaigning to explain party issues to the electorate."

Mr Adjei-Baah, for his part, said he would remain neutral because the votes he had were from both the NDC and the NPP.

"For now I want to focus on my role as an independent candidate and I will only declare my stand after the December 28 presidential run-off," he told the Daily Graphic.
"I want to represent the people who gave me the mandate and represent their voice in Parliament," he noted.

Basing his calculation on what the various presidential candidates got in the presidential election, Mr Adjei-Baah, who is popularly known as "Shaaba", said about 8,000 NDC supporters voted for him, while he attracted about 13,000 votes from the NPP.

He said his campaign team was also made up of members of both the NDC and the NPP, saying, "That is my dilemma."

Mr Adjei-Baah got 21,507 votes to win the Nkawkaw seat. He was the candidate for the NIP in the 1992 parliamentary election which was boycotted - by the opposition political parties. In the 2004 election he stood as an independent candidate.


Source: Daily Graphic