Accra, Ghana, July 18, 2019//-Front runner for the 2020 Parliamentary ticket of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mrs. Irene Edem Mensah, today submitted her nomination forms at the party’s office, with a vow to unseat Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, MP for the Anyaa-Sowutuom constitutency.
Miss Botchwey who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs has been the MP for the constituency for long time, has nothing to show in the constituency.
These non-performance, unfulfilled promises and her quest to service the people have motivated Mrs. Mensah to enter the race on the NDC ticket.
Accompanied by throng of supporters and well-wishers who were clad in her campaign T-shirts, the woman who is seen by many as winsome answer to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s incumbent MP, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, submitted her filled nomination forms along with her filing fees.
“The march to victory has just received momentum by another massive step today and we give all glory to God for this,” she later said.
According to her, the rest of the days in the build up to the Parliamentary primary in August will be used to mop up her campaign and tie up any loose ends that must be tidied up.
“We hit the ground running and we are not slowing down until His Excellency former President John Dramani Mahama is sworn into office on the 7th of January 2021 and Anyaa-Sowutuom gets a better voice in Parliament.”
Mrs. Mensah, the daughter of a popular party hero within the Anyaa Sowutuom Constituency is likely to contest against the Anyaa-Sowutuom Constituency, Emmanuel Allotey who has recently been in the news over allegations that he tried to bribe one Bismark to keep his dirty files with the Bureau of National Investigations secret.
A third contestant is the party’s Constituency Chairman for Anyaa Sowutuom, Alhaji Mahmud.
Among the three however, Mrs. Irene Mensah is seen as the NDC’s best bet for Anyaa-Sowutuom which has been dominated by the NPP over the years.
A strategic demographic of the area includes the fact that the Pentecost Church, holds a lot of sway there. It is an open secret that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, joined the Pentecost Church by force and feigned allegiance to it just to win the Anyaa Sowutuom seat.
After getting what she wanted however, Ayorkor Botchwey abandoned the Church.
Interestingly, Mrs. Mensah is a Deaconess in the same Church and is rumored to have the blessing of the Church to run, a thing that has drawn the support of the NDC’s national executives, and reportedly, former President Mahama, himself for her.
The party’s national executives are said to be canvassing for a woman to contest in Anyaa-Sowutuom because over the years, female contestants have done better on the NDC ticket.
On the other hand, Emmanuel Allotey, the Constituency Treasurer, has kept his contest for the ticket a secret from his employers, Fidelity Bank, which is said to have warned all its staff to stay away from active politics.
By African Eye Report Political Correspondent in Accra, Ghana
