Member of Parliament-elect for the Upper West Akim district, Emmanuel Drah, has indicated that hard work, selflessness, and sacrifice were critical factors in ousting the incumbent MP, Adom Fredrick Obeng.
He regarded the election as difficult, but feels his hard work and dedication earned him the seat.
Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he stated, “The contest was not an easy one because the incumbent MP’s government was in power, so contesting and snatching the seat from him was not easy.” It is difficult to challenge an incumbent and win the seat, but I was successful thanks to my hard effort”.
I have never been involved with politics. This is my first time contesting, but I am someone with the spirit of helping people. Going into the contest, I was optimistic the people would consider and support me. The constituents knew who I was. I had my family and friends. I had worked, and so the people developed the like for me. I must also say that I must look at the fact that elections are won at the grassroots, and I need to empower the grassroots. That was the strategy I used in winning the election.
He told host Kwabena Agyapong that voters have changed and are looking forward to voting for people who have a vision for the development of their communities and people, rather than for political party affiliation.
”If you assume that you already have a base and that they will vote for you as a candidate in an election, you are mistaken. The people want to see results. So one thing I’ve learnt from this contest is that if I don’t perform, my own people will vote against me. So I need to perform whether my party is doing well or not,” he stated.
The MP-elect added that he campaigned in all the 300 communities in the constituency, saying,’’I campaigned in all the 300 communities in the constituency. I have to commend my executives for their support and hard work. It was an expensive adventure, but it has paid off. The constituency executives told me my campaign was unprecedented. We went to the communities and engaged the people. There is no single village we did not go to. It was quite expensive, but the results have shown that what we did was really strategic.
’I will not disappoint the communities. I am going to invest in them. That is all I have to tell the constituents of Upper West Akim. I am going to invest in them. I will remember all the communities in the constituency.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
