NPP Likely To Lose Dome-Kwabenya If�

The Dome/Kwabenya constituency in the Greater Accra Region is one that hitherto, the New patriotic party (NPP) would have thought was in the �bag�. That was the case until the posters of a well-known NPP activist in the constituency, Mr. Franklin Frempong Manso, appeared. He is to contest as an independent parliamentary candidate. Mr. Frempong Manso�s emblem is a horse, painted black, with the slogan � �ACTION MAN� TOGETHER WE BUILD�. The sad news for the NPP candidate, Ms. Adwoa Safo is that if Frempong Manso files his nomination papers at the Electoral Commission (EC), the chances of her retaining the seat for the NPP are limited because the votes would be split. Below is our analysis, first published some months ago: �The Dome/Kwabenya constituency in Greater Accra was �born� in 2004 out of the Ga North constituency. In 2004, the Electoral Commission (EC) decided to increase the number of seats from 200 to 230. Ga North was split into two � Abokobi/Madina and Dome/Kwabenya. Dome/Kwabenya has three electoral areas � Dome; Kwabenya and Agbogba. In the 2004 parliamentary elections, Mike Oquaye of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won with 65.5%. Isaac Adama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had 33.3% and Kwashie Ebla of the People�s National Convention (PNC) � 1.4%. In 2008, Mike Oquaye won again, with 57.51%, with the NDC candidate, Ms. Zita Okaikoi getting 39.48%. Ms. Emelia Osei of the Convention People�s Party (CPP) had 2% and the PNC�s Kwashie Egla 0.71%. The December 7, 2012 parliamentary elections will be a battle between two ladies � the NPP�s Adwoa Safo and Sophia Ackuaku of the NDC, Ms. Ackuaku beat Ms. Okaikoi in a bitter NDC primary and as you read this piece, the NDC in the constituency is very divided. Even with a united front, the NDC could not win the seat in 2008 and Ms. Safo�s only problem will be the margin of victory. She will also need to work hard to increase the number of votes for her presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo. Between the performance of John Kufuor in 2004 and Nana Akufo-Addo in 2008, Nana lost 7,644 votes.�