Francisca Oteng-Mensah: I Had Wanted To Be A Politician Since Infancy

She is now making headlines in the media for the reason that her age to contest as a parliamentary candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party [NPP] in 2016 is inspiring.

Francisca Oteng-Mensah won the NPP parliamentary primaries in the Kwabre East Constituency in the Ashanti Region by defeating incumbent MP, Kofi Frempong to contest in the 2016 general elections.

Miss. Oteng-Mensah pulled 321 votes while the incumbent Member of Parliament, Kofi Frempong had 187 votes – other aspirants, Lawyer Osei-Poku obtained 202 and K Adjei- Sefa got 33 votes respectively.

The 22-year-old second year law student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Francisca told OKAY FM’s "Ade Akye Abia" morning show that, even though politics has been part of her ambitions – “I wasn’t expecting to contest for an MP position at this age”.

“My parents asked me whether I am fit for all the stress in politics and I told them yes…they fully support what I am doing,” she added. 

In an interview with OKAY FM, Francisca Oteng-Mensah noted that her reason to vie for Kwabre East constituency seat was necessitated by leadership of the NPP women’s wing in her electorate – “They inspired me to contest because they needed a change”.

According to her, other contenders humiliated her on age factor but she was unperturbed by their persuasion.

“My age became a big issue for me during my campaign. Other candidates tried to use that against me but I showed maturity by selling myself and message to them rather than attacking them back..."

“…My aim is to work for the youth. My story should inspire the youth…believe in what you can do and go ahead and do it,” she advised.

Francisca, 22 outlined three things that won her the primaries - “God did the miracle, my campaign message was strong and my style of campaign was unique”.