Agbesi wrests Ashaiman seat

Tema, Dec. 8, GNA - Mr Alfred Kwame Agbesi, a Tema based legal practitioner has won the Ashaiman seat on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to enter Parliament on January seven. He won with 53,559 votes to kick out Mr Emmanuel K.K. Teye, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) incumbent MP who had 36,044 votes, Hajia Hajara Ali of the Peoples National Convention polled 2,697, Mr Isaac Mensah of the Convention People's Party, 835 while Mr Samuel Kwame Amable an independent candidate polled 966 votes.
Lawyer Agbesi contested the primaries and won in 1996 but claimed that the NDC party hierarchy asked him to step down for Mr Franklin Aheto to finish a second term on condition that he (Agbesi) went in 2000.
He said in 2000, however, he was denied the opportunity because the party leaders advised against holding primaries "and this forced me to contest as an independent candidate under the slogan 'Agbesi Nyale', but lost to Mr Teye of the NPP.
In the presidential race, the NDC had 54,549, NPP, 37,902, PNC, 867 and CPP 512.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Agbesi expressed surprised at the massive turn out at the polls, which indicated the awareness among the people.
He appealed to residents of Ashaiman to bury their differences and come together with a common goal to forge ahead for the advancement of the area.
At the Kpone/Katamanso constituency, the NDC retained its seat with 16,257 votes going to Nii Joseph Laryea Afotey-Agbo a farmer, Mr Solomon Tettey Appiah of the NPP had 9,962, Mr Justice Tetteh of the CPP took 1,345, while the PNC candidate Madam Rita Akwei polled 262 and Madam Pearl Akua Agyeman, Independent, had 2,389.
With the presidential election, 17,430 votes went to the NDC, NPP had 1,760, PNC 186 and CPP 470.
The NDC MP, Madam Beatrice Naa Afiyie Ashong did not seek re-election on personal grounds.