NPP chooses murdered MP’s wife as new candidate for Mfantseman

Ophelia Hayford, the wife of the late MP for Mfantseman, has been selected by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to succeed her murdered husband, Ekow Kwansah Hayford.

In a letter the governing party sent to the Electoral Commission (EC), the NPP invoked portions of CI 127 to allow a ten-day extension of the period within which it would file nomination papers for the murdered MP’s wife to stand as its new parliamentary candidate for Mfantseman.

Election laws

As prescribed by the constitution and electoral laws of Ghana, the party is enjoined to do so within ten days.

“Where at the close of the nomination, but before the election one of the candidates dies, a further period of ten days shall be allowed for nominations,’’ the electoral provision says.

The selection of Ophelia Hayford as the new candidate for Mfantseman was made in consultation with the bereaved family as well as the constituency and regional executives of the NPP.

The NPP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) settled on Mrs Hayford at a meeting on Wednesday.

Even before the meeting at which the decision was taken, however, many residents and party executives in Hayford’s constituency had called for the party to settle on the widow of the late MP to replace him.

Following precedent

In January 2019, Lydia Alhassan replaced her husband, Emmanuel Kwabena Kyeremateng Agyarko, as MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon after winning a by-election in this Greater Accra seat.

Agyarko, a two-term MP for the NPP, died in a hospital in the United States after a protracted illness in November 2018.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, has placed a GHC20,000 bounty on the killers of Ekow Hayford.

In a statement issued by the public relations directorate of the Ghana Police Service and signed by Superintendent of Police Sheilla Kesse Abayie-Buckman, the police said the money will be given only for credible information that leads to the arrest of the murderers of the Mfantseman MP.

Fred Dzakpata

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