Widow of late MP, Ophelia Hayford

Out of the 15 women in the Central Region who contested in the just ended 2020 Parliamentary Election, six have secured seats in Parliament to represent their respective constituents for the next four years of governance of the Country.

Four of them are affiliated to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), while the other two are for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The NPP MPs are Mrs. Cynthia Mamle Morrison, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West who polled 30,513 votes, of the 50,513 valid votes cast and Mrs. Hawa Koomson, the incumbent MP for Awutu Senya East who garnered 57,114 votes against her NDC contender Ms Naa Koryo Okunor who got 51,561.

Mrs Morrison, the 56-year-old politician, received massive support from the electorates during her campaign and won the seat with 30,513 as against NDC’s Paul Ofori-Amoah who obtained 27,673 votes.  

Mrs Koomson, who doubles as Minister Special Initiatives defied all odds to win the seat for the third time despite suffering a smear campaign after a shooting incident during the voter’s registration exercise in her constituency that was linked to her, sometime in August this year and was tipped to lose her seat.

The others are Mrs. Naana Eyiah Quansah, the incumbent MP for Gomoa Central and the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources who brazed the storm to retain her seat, and Mrs. Ophelia Mensah Hayford, a new entrant, whose tragedy had turned out a blessing in disguise.

Mrs Eyiah Quansah received massive support from the electorates during her campaign and was optimistic of winning which she did with 20,527 as against Jonamoah Moses Jehu-Appiah who had 14,568 votes.

Mrs Hayford on the other hand, replaces her husband, the late Ekow Kwansa Hayford who was gruesomely murdered by some armed men on the Abeadze Mankessim road when returning from a campaign trip on October 9.

She garnered 36,091 votes of the 70,233  ballots cast, the highest votes for the NPP in the Mfantseman Constituency.

On the ticket of the NDC, Mrs Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, sister of the former MP of the Awutu Senya West Constituency, also a new entrant, secured the seat with 32,702 of the 64,249 valid votes cast to dethrone NPP’s George Andah, the incumbent who got 29,832. Mr. Andah snatched the seat from Ms Hannah Tetteh in 2016 but could not hold on to it.

The incumbent NDC MP for Agona East, Madam Queenstar Maame Pokua Sawyerr retained her seat with 23,247 votes to quash the dream of NPP’s Professor Kwesi Yankah who polled 22,292 votes and failed in his bid.

The NPP which secured 19 of the 23 seats in the Region in 2016,  lost 9 of them to the opposition  NDC which had only 4 but now massed up 13 in the just ended 2020 elections.

The NPP seats are Effutu, Gomoa Central, Mfantseman, Agona West, Assin South, Assin Central, Awutu Senya West, Upper Denkyira East, Abura-Asebu-Kwamang-Kese (AAK), and Hemang-Lower/Denkyira constituencies.

The NDC, on the other hand, won Cape Coast South and North, Ekumfi, Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam (AEE), Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA), Upper Denkyira West, Awutu Senya East, Agona East, Gomoa East, and West, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa (AOB), Assin North and Twifo Atti Morkwa constituencies in the Region.

Of the 80 candidates who contested in the Parliamentary race in the Region, 17 men and six women made it to the Parliament House.