An aspiring parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Essikado-Ketan Constituency, Charles Onuawonto Bissue has debunked claims that the party is troubled about who gets elected as the parliamentary candidate to face off Dr Grace Ayensu Danquah of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). He argues that it is ironic that a candidate of the opposition party would consider herself that powerful in a rather stronghold of the NPP.
In an interview on Taadi FM, Mr Bissue urged delegates and party faithful of the NPP to allay any fears that the Essikado-Ketan seat could be lost to the NDC in the 2024 general elections should they fail to elect a candidate who can “match up” against Dr Grace Ayensu Danquah. According to him, it is politically incorrect for anyone (in the NPP) to believe the NDC stands a chance and that the party has to be troubled about her contest.
He noted that the NDC’s candidate is rather anxious about matching up against him in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
“It is as though the seat is theirs, and we are to find a candidate that can match up to her. Perhaps it is her thinking that she needs to match up with me. It is a psychological thing they are doing. When I get on the radio, some people assert that I am the only person to match up to her. No, she is the one anxious about matching up with me. The seat belongs to us,” he explained.
Mr Bissue added that the dynamics that come into play in every election are exceptional and that “it is wrong for the NDC to think that because they closed up the gap in the 2020 election, they stand a chance to win the seat in 2024.”
He justified that the NDC’s appreciated votes in the 2020 parliamentary elections were largely a natural behavioural response on the part of the voters to the incumbent Member of Parliament, Joe Ghartey.
“It is expected to witness some decline in voter margin for a long-serving MP like Joe Ghartey. That isn’t an indication of underperformance but a natural phenomenon in our politics where voters tend to lose confidence in the person. Its akin to the concept of diminishing returns.”
