Ahead of the opening of nominations for parliamentary primaries of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), several individuals are preparing the grounds to launch or re-launch their political careers.

One of such persons to have emerged in the Tema East Constituency of the Greater Accra Region is a 33-year-old former polling station secretary and businessman, Elliot Kabutey Tei, who’s seeking to vie strongly for the slot.

Within the NPP in the Tema Constituency, observers expect the current Mayor of Tema, Yohane Amarh Ashitey, who’s rumoured to be interested in vying for the slot to be the sole contender.

But it appears the young Kabutey Tei is poised to give the Mayor a good run for his money, to help the NPP recapture the Tema East seat currently occupied by Isaac Ashai Odamtten of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to Mr Tei, “I have lived all my life in the constituency and so I have a better understanding of the developmental needs of the grassroots, the youth and women in particular, and the good people of Tema East in general. With respect to my contributions to the party, I have been very politically active and served in various capacities as well as serving in a leadership position as a polling station secretary for a number of years.”

“I believe that with my enormous experience within the community and the NPP, I am the best person to lead the NPP to recapture the seat for the NPP in the coming competitive 2024 parliamentary elections” he noted.

The young politician says he took the decision to contest the primaries to subsequently become an MP after several consultations with opinion leaders in the constituency who gave him their blessings.

“My tenure as MP will lead to key strategies such as constituency re-organization, foster unity among party internal groups and party reconciliation among others.”

Mr Tei added that he’s committed to “reviving the communal spirit of constituents to contribute to the overall development of the various communities in Tema to garner support for the party.”

Tema East has been a safe seat for the NPP since 1996, except in 2020 when Titus Glover lost it to the NDC’s Isaac Ashai Odamtten.
 
Nominations for the parliamentary primaries of the NPP would be opened for orphan constituencies, that is, constituen¬cies without New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) on June 16, 2023, with the closing of nominations on July 14, 2023, and elections would be held from August 1 to December 2, 2023.

Meanwhile, the opening of nominations for constituencies with sitting NPP MPs would be held on December 20, 2023, and the closing of nominations would be held on January 4, 2024, with elections slated for February 24, 2024.