From political allies to rivals, the run-up to the 2024 general election has been full of drama. The political season has seen some shocking breakaways from traditional political parties. One of the most notable was Alan Kyerematen, a former presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who is contesting as an independent presidential candidate.
However, the parliamentary race has also seen some unexpected defections ahead of the upcoming polls. Here are four incumbent and former Members of Parliament who are contesting the 2024 elections as independent parliamentary candidates.
Vincent Sowah Odotei
Vincent Sowah Odotei, popularly known as “Obama”, a former Member of Parliament for the La Dade Kotopon Constituency, has declared that he is contesting the 2024 elections as an independent candidate. The former Deputy Minister of Communication was elected to parliament in 2016 on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), securing 40,126 votes, or 50.58% of the total votes. However, his bid for a second term was cut short during the NPP’s primaries in 2020, where he lost to Gerald Joseph Nii Tetteh Nyanyofio.
Odotei announced his decision to contest the December 7 elections as an independent candidate in September 2024. He will face tough competition from the incumbent NDC MP, Rita Odoley Sowah, and the NPP’s candidate, Joseph Addo—who also serves as President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s driver. Odotei, who represented La from 2017 to 2020 on the NPP ticket, explained that he had “unfinished business” in the constituency.
Samia Nkrumah
Samia Nkrumah, the daughter of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, is seeking a return to parliament as an independent candidate for the Jomoro constituency in the Western Region. She won the seat in 2008, defeating the incumbent MP, Lee Ocran of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
However, in her second attempt in 2012, she was defeated by Francis Kabenlah Anaman of the NDC, who garnered 42.2% of the vote compared to Nkrumah’s 35.5%.
The former Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) now faces tough competition from the incumbent NDC MP, Dorcas Affo-Tetteh, and the NPP’s Paul Essien, a former MP.
Cynthia Morrison
In August 2024, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West in the Central Region, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, publicly announced her decision to contest as an independent candidate. This news sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and has become a topic of controversy surrounding the four vacant parliamentary seats.
Morrison, a two-time MP (2016 and 2020), lost her bid for a third term to the NPP’s Christopher Arthur. She now faces stiff competition from both Arthur and the NDC’s Ernestina Ofori Dangbe.
Kwadwo Asante
Another MP at the centre of the controversy surrounding the four vacant parliamentary seats is Kwadwo Asante, popularly known as “Boafo”, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Suhum. Asante declared his intention to contest the seat as an independent candidate in September 2024 after losing the NPP primaries to Frank Asiedu Bekoe on January 27, 2024.
He faces fierce competition from the NPP’s Asiedu Bekoe and the NDC’s Prince Kwadwo Addo Tabiri.
These defections to a charged political atmosphere with upcoming election promising to be a highly contested one.
Source:
www.pulse.com.gh
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