NPP delegates congress: The good, bad and ugly

I have heard many things said about the recent national delegates conference of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) which came off in Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

I must confess that I was indeed impressed with the way NPP members conducted themselves at the Kumasi delegates conference.

We all need to commend the party for its successful conference. Furthermore, the event was historic in the sense that it brought together about 4,500 delegates to elect national officers to steer the party’s affairs in the next four years. The success stories of the Kumasi NPP congress and that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Tamale go to assert that Ghanaians would have nothing more than a multi-party system of government. For now we are waiting on the other political parties to have theirs.

At the end of the NPP congress the delegates of the party spoke, and that was evident in the election of new national executives. Prior to the conference, all eyes were fixed on the position of the National Chairman. In that fierce battle Mr Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey managed to pick the slot from his closest rival, Mr Stephen Ayensu Ntim, who, until the election, had everything going his way.

There were a few surprises. The National Women’s Organiser position was picked by Miss Afisah Otiko Djaba. Many had tipped Mrs Christine Churcher to win that position but the delegates in their wisdom voted overwhelmingly for Mrs Otiko Djaba. Moctar Bamba was elected as the National Organiser with John Karbo winning the party’s National Youth Organiser.

However, there were a few bad and ugly scenes at the conference which need not be swept under the carpet as we continue to grow our country’s democracy. Before the conference, the party directed that no party member should either wear an Alan or Nana Addo T-shirt. That was something I could not agree with the NPP. What was the party trying to achieve by that directive?

Honestly speaking, I think the NPP leadership had it all wrong on that score. We should allow people to express themselves in whom they believe should hold what position. Inasmuch as positions would be contested for in political parties you would have members supporting candidate A or B. So the fact is that there will be NPP members no matter what will support Nana Addo or Alan Kyerematen to win the presidential slot of the party.

That is the stark truth. And it is important that the NPP recognises this basic fact and avoid downplaying the matter of Alan/Nana Addo power struggle for the flag bearership position anytime it comes up.

I heard Mr Ntim on Accra-based Peace Fm indicate that all was not well with the conference. Although he was not ready to disclose his grievances on air, he left trails which suggest that there were some level of electoral malpractices. Then came Mr Charles Yves Wereko Brobbey. He was emphatic that the election was rigged to ensure that some contestants occupy key positions in the party.

The issue of electoral malpractices is one factor that seems to be hindering Africa’s quest to build a vibrant democratic culture. Civil wars have arisen due to disputes of election results. In extreme cases throats have been slashed and hands have been chopped following allegations of malpractices in national elections in many African countries where the concept of democracy is still at its infant stage.

So far, it is only Mr Ntim who has indicated that he would channel his grievances to the appropriate quarters within the party. I believe Mr Ntim’s decision was informed on the fact that the Alan/Nana Addo factions still continue to create disunity among members, sympathisers and faithful of the NPP.

It is imperative that we talk about some of the electoral malpractices that go on at the party level. It is interesting to note that some of such practices have found their way into our national election contests.

We all saw what happened when during the 2008 election some supporters of the NDC party which was in opposition at the time besieging the premises of the Electoral Commission (EC) on suspicion that the then NPP government was going to twist the election results to its favour. We do not have to create conditions that will set the flames of passions flaring up to their uncontrollable limits.

It is against such backdrop that political parties in the country take a serious look at some of the electoral malpractices which happen at their camps. Our political parties must know that we are building a democracy that will stand the test of generations yet unborn.