NDC Primary: Sam George retires E.T. Mensah

• Posted on November 23, 2015November 23, 2015
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Call it a David and Goliath fight, and you will not be wrong.

Sam George, a protégé of E.T Mensah, the incumbent Member of Parliament for the Ningo-Prampram Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, has toppled his boss in perhaps, the fiercest race in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries.

Certified results declared by the Electoral Commission official from 22 polling stations gave Samuel Nartey George, 4,910 votes representing 53.4% of total votes with ET Mensah polling 2,831 representing 38.5%.

Ningo-Prampram was tagged as the hottest spot before the November 21 nationwide primaries, and it indeed lived up to the tag with all the drama that unfolded before the voting day.

From the war of words that ensued in the media between the two contenders, the fight was taken to the grounds in Ningo-Prampram, where Mr. Sam George was allegedly punched in his eye during a disagreement about the voters’ register on Saturday.

The confusion on Saturday eventually led to the postponement of the polls which was originally scheduled for Saturday November 21, to Sunday November 22.

Although voting was largely smooth on Sunday, confusion broke out at Ahwiam, which happens to be the hometown of Sam George, and ostensibly his stronghold.

Nearly 50 military personnel were brought the area to prevent what they claim was an attempt by Sam George, a presidential staffer believed to have the backing of the presidency, to rig the polls in that community.

The soldiers were strangely contracted by the Greater Accra Regional executives of the NDC.

Tema Regional Police Commander, (DCOP) Beatrice Zaakpa Vib-Sanziri, who spoke to Citi News’ Elvis Washington, criticized the soldiers for their presence in the area without recourse to the police which is solely in charge of protecting the process.

But the Greater Accra Regional NDC Chairman and the Organizer together with the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Djamgba Vanderpuije, justified the presence of the military personnel and suggested that there was nothing wrong if the police was not informed about the presence of the soldiers.

Some residents of Ahwiam hooted at the executives and the military personnel as they left the scene accusing them of intimidating voters in an attempt to favour the incumbent MP, E.T. Mensah.

Regardless of these developments however, Sam George, has shockingly beaten Mr. ET Mensah who has been MP since 1996 with a margin of more than 2,000 votes.

The incumbent MP, who has earned the nickname ‘Prampram Mugabe’ for his longevity in the legislature, was fully convinced he was going to retain his bid to lead the party in the constituency in the 2016 election.

But not even votes from Prampram where he fails from were enough to secure him a victory as Sam George, who hails from Ningo managed to secure some vital votes from the Prampram area.

The Ningo-Prampram Constituency has traditionally been an NDC seat but there are indications the NPP’s candidate could pose a threat to the party in the 2016 general elections if it becomes complacent.

According to Citi News’ Elvis Washington, most of the residents of Ningo-Prampram, particularly Prampram where Mr. ET Mensah hails from, were in support of Sam George and were ready for a change but were scared to openly declare their support as a result of fear.

He said Mr. ET Mensah and his boys who work for him mostly attacked residents who openly campaigned against him, hence the decision of the residents to keep calm till they got to the ballot box to show their preference.

-citifmonline