Husband, Wife Elected MP Aspirants

At a time, some Members of Parliament (MPs) are lamenting that there is no motivation to go to Parliament, a man and his wife have been elected as parliamentary candidates for the December 7, 2024 general elections.

The couple, who are set to contest on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are Charles Cromwell Nanabanyin Bissue, a former secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), who won the Essikado-Ketan constituency primary, and his wife, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, the Okaikoi North constituency candidate.

If successful at the December polls, perhaps, the two will be the first couple to serve in the august House at the same time and from the same party.

In the past, siblings and generally family members have entered the House either on the same party ticket or different political parties.

Mr. Bissue, also a former Western Regional secretary of NPP, who is currently in court, facing trial with the Office of the Special Prosecution (OSP),was elected the party’s parliamentary candidate for the Essikado-Ketan constituency in the Western Region over the weekend, beating stiff competition from two other contenders.

He is taking over the mantle from veteran politician, Joe Ghartey, who did not seek reelection, having represented his people for five terms after the constituency was carved out of the Sekondi constituency in 2004.

Bissue won the election with 333 votes to beat Madam Anna Meizah, who garnered 234 votes, and the third aspirant, Giovanni Agyemang, who secured 199 votes.

His wife, Ama Dokua, a Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, on the other hand, was the first to be elected during the party’s primary for ‘orphan’ constituencies last December.

She is actually the sitting Member of Parliament for the Akuapem North constituency in the Eastern Region, but had to abandon the seat.

The brave MP did what many in politics will shy away from doing. The deputy minister abandoned the temptation to seek reelection at Akuapem North to contest the Okaikoi North primary in the Greater Accra Region, where she won convincingly.

She reportedly left the area because the Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku, was eyeing the ticket and indeed was subsequently acclaimed the parliamentary candidate for that area on December 2, last year.

Dokua pulled 341 votes out of the total 850 valid votes by the delegates.

Her contenders included former deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Microfinance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC), Alberta Maame Afua Asomaniwaa Akoto, who garnered 228, followed by one Nyarko Stephen Adipa, who had 108 votes.

A former MP for the constituency, Fuseini Issah, and lawyer-cum-managing editor of the Daily Searchlight newspaper, Kenneth Agyei Kuranchie, who have been contesting for the ticket for some time now managed 114 and 27 respectively. Prince Owusu Mensah had 6 votes.

In the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, Charles Bissue will come face to face with the National Democratic Congress (NDC),Professor Grace Ayensu Danquah.

But it will be an all women affair, as Ama Dokua will challenge the opposition NDC’s Theresa Lardi Awuni, who happens to be the incumbent in the Okaikoi North constituency.

Charles and Dokua found love and got married in 2019 at a private ceremony at the MP’s father’s East Legon home.

At the time, Charles was a Presidential Staffer and had just resigned as secretary of the IMCIM, following a documentary by ace journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, implicating him. His wife was a Deputy Minister of Information.

Source: Anchorghana.com