Akua Donkor
Akua Donkor | |
|---|---|
| Ghana Freedom Party candidate for President of Ghana | |
| Running mate | Kwabena Agyeman Appiah Kubi |
| Opponent(s) | Nana Akufo-Addo John Mahama and 9 others |
| Incumbent | Nana Akufo-Addo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 1952 Ejuratia, Gold Coast (Now Ghana) |
| Died | 28 October 2024 (aged 72)[1] Accra, Ghana |
| Political party | Ghana Freedom Party |
| Children | Ama Serwaa Bonsu |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Cocoa farmer |
Akua Donkor (February 1952 – 28 October 2024) was a Ghanaian farmer and politician.[2] She was the founder and leader of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).[3][4]
Early life
[edit]Akua Donkor was born in February 1952 and hailed from Ejuratia in the Afigya Kwabre District[5] in the Ashanti Region of Ghana (then the Gold Coast). She was a Cocoa farmer by profession and was not known to have had any formal education.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Akua Donkor birthed a daughter who goes by the name Ama Serwaa Bonsu.[5]
Politics
[edit]Akua Donkor was initially an assembly woman for Heman electoral area in the Afigya Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.[7]
She applied to contest as an independent candidate in the 2012 election to become president of Ghana but was disqualified by the Electoral Commission on accounts of not meeting the requirements set for the election. She later decided to give her support to Paa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People's Party.[8]
In January, months before the elections, Donkor's GFP headquarters located at Kabu in the Eastern Region was gutted by fire.[9] Speaking on the incident, Donkor said the disaster was a test which would not deter her quest to become the president of Ghana.
However on 10 October 2016, the Ghana Electoral Commission announced the disqualification of Akua Donkor, together with 12 other presidential candidates from contesting 7 December election.[10][4] She admitted that her nomination form was fraught with errors, as pointed out by the Electoral Commission. She called on members and executives of the party not to lose hope as the party would come back in 2020 to contest the presidential race.[11]
In 2020, Donkor was among the three female presidential candidates to be cleared to contest the 2020 presidential elections.[12] Out of the 12 candidates that contested, she came fifth.[13]
Donkor successfully filed her nomination to contest in the 2024 presidential elections,[14] and placed number 3 on the ballot paper.[15]
Later, Akua Donkor threatened to drag John Dramani Mahama, the 2024 presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress, to court over derogatory comments on her qualification as a presidential candidate during an Inter-Party Advisory Committee meeting which was held on 15 October 2024 in Accra.[16][17]
She however passed away on 28 October 2024.[18]
The Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) named Philip Appiah Kubi as a flagbearer replacement for Akua, however he was disqualified due to errors and illegitimate information found in his nomination form.[19]
Campaign promises
[edit]Akua Donkor promised to implement free education from basic to secondary level.[20] She also promised to eliminate import taxes to enable people engage in more imports. She mentioned the establishment of a free zone at the Tema Port to attract more businesses into the country.[6] This, she said, were achievable through the judicious use of Ghana's natural resources such as gold, cocoa, shea butter and salt.[20] She also advocated that Ghana refine its own resources, especially crude oil.
Akua Donkor has claimed Muammar Gaddafi of Libya as her political icon. Inspired by the late Libyan leader, Donkor stated Ghana should be "rubbing shoulders" with the northern African country.[20]
She also wanted the country to elect its first female president, stating women had the capacity to "help change the fortunes of the country for the better".[20]
Death
[edit]Akua Donkor passed away on 28 October 2024 at the Ridge Hospital Accra, where she was receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed condition after experiencing illness during her campaign activities ahead of preparations towards the 2024 Ghanaian general election.[1][21] She had been diagnosed with abdominal complications two days prior.[22]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Akua Donkor, Presidential Candidate of Ghana Freedom Party dies at age 72 - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 29 October 2024.
- ^ Otchere, Gertrude Owireduwaah (29 October 2024). "What you probably didn't know about Akua Donkor - Adomonline.com". Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Akua Donkor, 'Otumfuo is my husband' - Now Ghana!". Now Ghana!. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Ghana Freedom Party Leader Akua Donkor dead". 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Akua Donkor: Ejuratia residents mourn as daughter calls for state burial". 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ a b Kanyarwunga (7 July 2011). "History of Africa Otherwise: Ms. Akua Donkor, illiterate President of Ghana ?". History of Africa Otherwise. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Akua Donkor, an epitome of female empowerment". 5 November 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ "Disqualified Akua Donkor Joins Nduom's PPP". Peacefmonline.com. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
- ^ "Akua Donkor party office burnt". ghanaweb.com. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "EC disqualifies Nduom, Konadu, 11 others; accepts 4 - MyJoyOnline". Archived from the original on 9 February 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ "Akua Donkor calms supporters, says 2020 is her surest bet". 12 October 2016.
- ^ "Akua Donkor, Konadu Rawlings, Dzogbenuku cleared to contest 2020 election". GhanaWeb.
- ^ "2020 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS". ec.gov.gh. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ "2024 Elections: Akua Donkor and two others file nomination". GhanaWeb.
- ^ "Akua Donkor Jubilates Over Number 3 Position On Presidential Ballot". DailyGuide Network. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ "Akua Donkor threatens to sue Mahama over derogatory comment on her presidential candidate qualifications - Graphic Online".
- ^ Otchere, Gertrude Owireduwaah (15 October 2024). "Akua Donkor threatens to sue Mahama - Adomonline.com". Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Decision to Declare Akua Donkor's Votes as Spoilt Ballots Raises Serious Legal, Constitutional Concerns – Prof. Asare". The Ghana Times. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "EC disqualifies GFP's new flagbearer over illegalities". 12 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d Rebecca Quaicoe Duho. "Ghana must not be in difficulty — Akua Donkor - Graphic Online". www.graphic.com.gh. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ^ "Akua Donkor: Ghana presidential candidate die about a month to elections". BBC News Pidgin. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Ghana presidential candidate Akua Donkor passes away". Africanews. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.