Ten incumbent New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Ashanti Region were beaten in the party’s primaries on Saturday, June 20.
They include the MP for Bantama and government’s spokesperson on Finance, Daniel Okyem Aboagye, MP for Offinso South and Chairman of Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee in Parliament, Ben Abdallah Banda, MP for Manhyia North and Chairman of Government Assurance Committee, Collins Owusu Amankwah and MP for Ejisu who doubles as Deputy Minister of Roads and Highway, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi.
The rest are Nyiaeso MP, Kennedy Kankam, Nsuta Kwamang Beposo MP, Kwame Asafu Adjei, Joseph Albert Quarm (MP for Manso Nkwanta), Kojo Appiah-Kubi (MP for Atwima Kwanwoma), MP for Bosome Freho, Adwoa Ako Dei and Nana Marfo Amaniampong (MP for Afigya Kwabre North).
In the Bantama Constituency, Mr. Daniel Okyem Aboagye, a first-term MP was contested by deputy Chief of Staff, Francis Asenso Boakye. Asenso Boakye polled 456 of the votes while Okyem Aboagye had 122.
In the Offinso South Constituency, Isaac Yaw Opoku polled 473 votes to beat the incumbent, Ben Abdallah who had166 votes. The third aspirant in the race, Desmond Chris Appiah had 43 votes.
With respect to the Manhyia North primary, Akwasi Konadu beat the incumbent Collins Owusu Amankwah with only 5 votes. As Akwasi Konadu had 278, Collins Owusu Amankwah had 273 votes.
The Chief Executive Officer of National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP), John Ampontuah Kumah secured 397 votes to beat the incumbent Kwabena Owusu Aduomi who had 307. The third Aspirant, Abena Pokua-Amoah-Boaitey had 5 votes.
The CEO of MASLOC, Stephen Amoah secured 332 votes to beat the current MP, Kennedy Kankam who had 315.
MP for Nsuta Kwamang Beposo, Kwame Asafu Adjei did not get the chance to represent the party in parliament in the upcoming 2020 general elections as he was beaten by Adelaide Yaa Agyeiwaa Ntim.
George Obeng also beat the sitting MP Joseph Albert Quarm to become the candidate to represent the party in parliament for the Manso Nkwanta Constituency.
MP for Bosome Freho, Adwoa Ako Dei was beaten by Akwasi Darko Boateng. At Atwima Kwanwoma, Kofi Amankwa Manu Opoku secured 415 votes to beat the incumbent, Kojo Appiah Kubi who had 69 votes. In the Afigya Kwabre North constituency, the incumbent Nana Marfo Amaniampong also lost.
Saturday’s primaries was conducted in constituencies where the NPP has sitting Members of Parliament.
The party has 44 incumbent MPs in the Ashanti Region. Elections were held in 43 constituencies except for the Kwadaso primary which has been postponed to 24th June 2020.
16 incumbent MPs run unopposed while 15 who were contested won.
Meanwhile, two current MPs, Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei and MP for Akrofuom, Kwabena Appiah-Pinkrah did not contest in the primaries which paved way for entirely new entrants.