For more than a decade, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng has served as the Member of Parliament for the Obuasi West Constituency on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. In the 2012 election, Hon. Kwaku Kwarteng defeated Hon. John Alexander Ackon of the National Democratic Congress by a margin of 31,111 votes to 16,253, representing 64.80% to 33.85% respectively. Again in 2016, he garnered 32,049 votes, which accounted for 68.46%, against NDC candidate Hon. John Alexander Ackon’s 11,587 votes, or 24.75%. In the 2020 election, Hon. Kwarteng won once more with 33,383 votes, representing 68.80%, while NDC candidate Hon. Faustilove Appiah Kanin received 15,141 votes, or 31.21%.
Winning the Obuasi West parliamentary seat for the NPP has always seemed straightforward for Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng, but can he secure the 2024 parliamentary seat for the NPP on December 7? This question arises due to the strong emergence of independent candidate Hon. Odeneho Kofi Appianin Ennin, who contested the chairmanship position of the Obuasi West NPP executive elections in July 2023 but lost to the current chairman, Mr. Dan Yankey.
Hon. Odeneho Kofi Appianin Ennin decided to run as an independent candidate because he believes that many of his supporters’ names were removed from the polling station executive album during the party’s polling station elections, which significantly contributed to his defeat in the constituency executive elections. He has intensified his campaign, urging the electorate in the Obuasi West Constituency to vote for him, citing the underdevelopment of the area. Can this independent candidate win the upcoming Obuasi West parliamentary election?
Hon Faustilove Appiah Kanin, the Obuasi West NDC Parliamentary candidate, has been the face of the National Democratic Congress in the Obuasi West constituency for some time now. She was able to increase her votes from 11,587 to 15,141 in the 2020 Parliamentary election. The question is, can she add more votes to what she received in the 2020 election?
After listening to all the Parliamentary candidates in the Obuasi West Constituency giving their messages, who wins your vote? If the independent candidate significantly reduces the incumbent MP’s votes, that will create a huge opportunity for the NDC candidate, who must then aim for more than 17,000 votes. On the other hand, the independent candidate needs to secure over 18,000 votes to win the contest, while the incumbent MP also requires just 18,000 votes to retain their seat.
The NDC’s chances of winning the Obuasi West seat depend heavily on the independent candidate’s performance. If the independent candidate fails to perform significantly, then the incumbent MP is well-positioned to win the seat again. For the very first time in many years, the Obuasi West Constituency parliamentary election is set to be a closely contested race.
Story: NANA K. YEBOAH