Around the world, several showbiz personalities have ventured into mainstream politics and gradually same is happening in Ghana as more celebrities openly endorse political parties with some going further to contest for parliamentary seats. There is an assumption that people who are already in the limelight are likely to win elections easily based on their popularity.
However, the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Tema Central Constituency, an actress, believes that winning an election is more about a person’s vision than her popularity.
Ms Ebi Bright, who had a short stint with the Convention People’s Party (CPP) before moving to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said although this was her first time contesting for a seat, she had been actively involved in activities in the constituency and considered this time appropriate to move into mainstream politics.
“Living in this community alone to me is the most important part of politics as that is the best way to understand the people and their issues,” she said.
She explained the assumption that the area is a stronghold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), saying that it does not hold as voters have become more discerning and moved from voting for parties to voting based on the candidate and what they can do. According to her, no political party can boast of a ‘safe seat.’
Although she is optimistic about winning the seat in the November elections, her focus is also to build a united constituency where its members can come together and work towards achieving a common goal.
Aside acting, Ms Bright is a social worker who has worked with several groups on some social issues and so she believes politics is a step up to what she has been doing all this while.
“Development communication put me at a place where I worked as a bridge between deprived communities and development partners and so politics is moving me a bit higher into policy making,” she explained.
She said although the constituency was considered as one of the areas that had most social amenities in place, it still faced a number of challenges which needed to be addressed.
Key amongst them is the increasing number of slums in the city centre which she believes could be reduced if proper measures are put in place.
Come May 19, Ms Bright is hoping to officially launch her vision for the Tema Central Constituency which will be on measures to tackle the youth and unemployment, upgrading of the Tema General Hospital, health and sanitation, security, amongst others.
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