Ejisu By-Election: Is Akufo-Addo, NPP 'afraid' of Kwabena Aduomi?

Ordinarily, any election in the Ashanti Region would be a walk in the park for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). However, the parliamentary by-election in the Ejisu Constituency is proving to be an exception. The election is being held to replace the late former Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, John Kumah.

The demeanor and utterances of prominent figures in the NPP and the government, including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, suggest that the party may be harboring concerns about losing the Ejisu seat for the first time since the inception of the 4th republic.

The main concern of the NPP is that if it loses the Ejisu seat, it will also lose its majority in parliament to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which would make it extremely difficult for the business of the government to progress in the House.

But what is even more interesting is that it is not the NDC that is giving the ruling political party these ‘parliamentary' headaches, but one of their own - a former deputy minister appointed by Akufo-Addo, who also served as a three-time NPP MP; Kwabena Owusu Aduomi.

Aduomi is contesting in the primaries as an independent candidate.

Here are possible reasons the NPP is 'so afraid' of Aduomi:

The Independent Candidate Curse:

One of the possible reasons the NPP is so concerned about Aduomi's candidacy is because there have been two precedents of the party losing parliamentary elections in the Ashanti Region to strong party members who left the party to contest as independent candidates.

The most recent precedent was set in the 2020 election when the party lost the Fomena Constituency seat to the current 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, after he left the NPP to contest as an independent candidate.

Asiamah Amoako, who left the NPP after losing the party's primaries, was also at the time, the NPP MP for Fomena in the 7th Parliament - from 2017 to 2020. Despite the whole government machinery and the entire NPP campaign against him, with President Akufo-Addo threatening that if the people of Fomena voted for him, he (Akufo-Addo) would not work with him, Asiamah Amoako won the seat for the area easily.

The current 1st Deputy Speaker of Parliament and NPP MP for the Bekwai Constituency, Joseph Osei-Owusu, also ousted the NPP MP for Amansie East when he contested as an independent candidate in the 2008 general election.

Osei-Owusu, who was a prominent figure in the John Agyekum Kufuor government, decided to go independent when he lost the NPP primaries for Amansie East, after protests of the primaries being rigged were ignored.

The Record of Aduomi:

Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, whose reason for going independent echoes that of Osei-Owusu and Asiamah Amoako, also has a very rich record in his constituency.

Aduomi, a former deputy minister of roads and highways, is a three-time NPP MP for Ejisu. He represented the constituency in the 7th Parliament (2017-2021), the 6th Parliament (2013-2016), and the 5th Parliament (2009–2012). What is even more intriguing are the percentages by which he won the elections.

He won the 2008 election with 82.34% of the votes, the 2012 with 80.50%, and the 2016 with 82.38%. This shows that he is loved by the people of Ejisu even though he lost the NPP primaries to the late John Kumah in 2020, which he said was rigged and the reason for him going independent.

Aduomi is also credited with overseeing the construction of some of the major roads in the Ejisu Constituency, a claim President Akufo-Addo challenged; stating that no road is constructed in Ghana without his approval.

Ashanti Turning Away from the NPP:

Another reason the NPP might be afraid of losing to Aduomi is that the people of the Ashanti Region, the 'World Bank' of the party, are currently not happy with the performance of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.

The region has seen demonstrations over the failure of the government to improve its road infrastructure and also see to the completion of the redevelopment of the Kumasi Central Market.

The Ashanti Region has also been badly affected by the ongoing erratic power supply crisis (dumsor). A massive protest was held in Kumasi over the severity of the dumsor in the region.

Also, recent polls show that nearly 30% of NPP supporters in the Ashanti Region say they would not vote for the party in the upcoming December 7, 2024, election.

BAI/AE

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