They think that meritocracy, rather than party fanatism, should dictate vote casting and have pledged their votes to the ruling NPP’s likely Parliamentary candidate for 2020.

“Unless the NPP does not present Honourable Carlos Ahenkorah in 2020, if they do, we will all vote for him,” says Kofi Mensah, a member of the‘Concerned Members of the NDC in Tema West.’

According to Mr Mensah, Mr Ahenkorah, who is the current sitting MP for Tema West had his vote already, two and a half years ahead of the Parliamentary elections in 2020, but his Presidential vote was not reserved for President Akufo-Addo.

“I will vote for Carlos Ahenkorah in the 2020 Parliamentary election, but will vote for the Presidential Candidate that my party, the NDC, will bring.”

He explained that Carlos would have his vote because the MP had impressed so well as a legislator, a position that was re-echoed by Sarah Otoo, another member of the group, “And yes, if President Akufo-Addo too manages to impress me within the remainder of his tenure, I will vote for him in 2020 even though I am an unrepentant member of the NDC,” Ms Otoo said.

The two NDC members explained that in the new wave of meritocracy, Carlos Ahenkorah had successfully wooed their conscience with his hands-on performance which benefited many, including themselves, in the constituency irrespective of their political difference.

Kofi Mensah catalogued Mr Ahenkorah’s achievements in less than one year in office to include; the construction of canteens for all public schools across the constituency, distribution of thousands of furniture, especially dual desks to schools and the furnishing of all the public schools with modern text and exercise books.

He has secured jobs for many people.

The MP is also credited with setting up an office for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for the constituency and refurbishing the Tema Polyclinic office of the scheme and has also secured scholarships for many medical students from the constituency to study abroad.

Mr Mensah also points out that in less than a year into his stewardship, the MP had built a modern incinerator for the Tema Polyclinic.

“Hon Carlos Ahenkorah’s performance so far is only second to the record of our first ever MP, Hon. Abraham Ossei Aidooh,” Mr Mensah said.

“Hon. Aidooh, a respected father figure in Tema politics is credited, among many other things, with securing the connection of Lashibi to the national electricity grid. A former Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, also championed multi-party democracy in Tema and it is therefore a big deal that Carlos Ahenkorah has attained comparison to him.

 “We in Tema West are grateful to President Akufo-Addo that our MP was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade,but I dare say that he even deserves to be a substantive Minister. At the rate that he is performing, he has won the hearts of the constituents and I can say that he will continue to be elected so long as he puts himself up for elections,” Mr. Mensah said.

On her part, Sarah Otoo praised the MP’s personal, hands-on assistance to constituents to secure loans, irrespective of political affiliation, which had helped her friends to secure loans in order to enable them pre-finance their contract with the school feeding programme and was in the process of setting up a loan scheme for Polling station executives in the constituency, she pointed out.

“Look, I know that it is not everybody who has benefited directly, like my friends have, but you know what the Bible says, different people’s blessings come at different times; today it is my friends, tomorrow it would be someone else.

“I know for a fact that it is not everybody who likes Carlos in Tema West, Even the Bible says that woe betides you if all people love you,” Sarah Otoo said.

She said members of the Concerned Members of NDC in Tema West were a little above five hundred and they were generally planning to vote for Carlos Ahenkorah in 2020, even though most do not have the courage to step out and speak up like she did.

Notwithstanding the pledges from the NDC Concerned members for the MP, there are disturbing developments that some members of the NPP are making some financial demands in order to allow him to go unopposed.

A member of the NPP group who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on condition of anonymity said;  ”As Tema West is a stronghold of the NPP, the Constituency Executives are allegedly saying that monetary settlement by Mr Ahenkorah is effectively his purchase of a one way ticket to re-election in 2020.”

The source said the Polling Station executives were making the demand because there was no indication whatsoever that anybody would want to challenge Mr Ahenkorah in the party’s upcoming primary.

“The MP is enjoying a lot of goodwill, less than a year into office as Legislator with many supposedly poised to re-vote him into the Legislature. However, even in a race between the tortoise and the hare, the work of the umpire would count.”

The source said the Polling Station executives are allegedly threatening to sabotage Mr Ahenkorah if he did not give them money by either voting for an opposition candidate or put up a candidate to challenge him at the primaries.