On October 13, 1957, six political parties came together to form the United Party (UP). The parties were the National Liberation Movement (NLM), a mid-land Akan based, led by Dr. K.A. Busia; Northern Peoples Party (NPP), Northern based, led by Mr. Dombo; Ga Shifimokpe, Ga based, led by Mr. Attor Quarshie; Togoland Congress, Northern Ewe based, led by S.G. Antor; Anlo Youth Party (AYA), Southern Ewe based, led by Mr. Apaloo and Muslim Association Party (MAP), Islamic based, led by Bankole.
It became necessary for all the six parties to unite or risk being disbanded in line with the Avoidance of Discrimination Act of 1957.
The UP storm into the political scene, with the aim of making Nkrumah and his CPP very accountable. As the leading opposition party in the House, it did just that.
Nkrumah and the CPP would not take things for granted and moves were made to entice leading members of the UP into the CPP.
On record, Mr. Dombo and Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia were approached with promises of juicy opportunities, should they defect to the CPP. While Dombo declined, Bawumia succumbed and joined the socialist party and remained socialist for the rest of his life.
Still very determined to run the UP down, obnoxious laws were passed which ended up with the declaration of Ghana as a One-Party State in 1965 with Nkrumah as the president for life. In the 1965 parliamentary elections, only CPP candidates stood at every constituency in Ghana. The UP was no more.
In 1969, the UP returned in the form of the Progress Party (PP) and won the elections to form government headed by Dr. K.A. Busia. The dream of reviving the tenets and principles of the UP Tradition did not live long when the PP was removed from power in 1972.
In 1978, the opportunity came when the ban on political activities were lifted. At a meeting to form a political party, former PP gurus split on the issue of forming a party with the core members belonging to the PP or adding on people from the socialist tradition who have converted.
During the debate, Mr. William Ofori-Atta (Paa Willie) and a few worked out to later form the United National Convention (UNC). The UP Tradition went into Elections 1979, a disunited front and both the UNC led by Paa Willie and the Popular Front Party (PFP) led by Victor Owusu, succumbed to the pro-Nkrumaist, Peoples National Party (PNP) led by Dr. Hilla Limann. The UNC had earlier declined to back the PFP during a run-off to determine who would be president.
And after the 1981 Coup which toppled Limann’s government, the radical capitalist reformist of our time, Jerry Rawlings lifted the ban on political activities in 1992.
This time the UP Traditionalists came together and vowed not to split again. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) was formed.
Based on the standards and strong principles of the UP, the NPP took off strongly during the most difficult times of post Nkrumah political times. All the same, the party became so attractive to Ghanaians and in 2000, it won the General Elections led by H.E. J.A. Kufuor. By the end of his second term, a new era came into being in the NPP. The era of democratic dictatorship, where just as a word from Nkrumah was never to be challenged but accepted as law, a word from the leader of the NPP was to be kowtowed to.
Anyone perceived to be pro-Kufuor was put in the class of anti-NPP. In his victory speech after Alan Kyerematen ceded to him during the 2007 presidential primaries, Nana Addo made a solemn promise to see that Alan became the flag bearer and president after him.
This solemn promise was broken when all pro-Nana Addo party activists looked at Alan as an enemy of the NPP and with him were included anyone who is perceived to be pro-Kufuor and therefore pro-Alan. Things grew from bad to worse, with some NPP gurus openly declaring in public with words of attack against Alanites, that they do not belong to the NPP anymore.
As openly declared by Wontomi and Abronye, party albums were seriously compromised to favour anyone but Alan. Finding that out he gifted the NPP leaders an amount of GH¢500,000.00 to do the right thing. Nothing was done and the money was never refunded. In addition to many attacks on his person, including being belittled in public, with the obvious scheme to make sure that he loses the primary, Alan stepped out of the race and out of the party.
During the 2024 General Elections, even though Alan was tactically made to lose miserably, 2.1 million NPP members decided not to vote at all and this led the party, now without any ounce of UP principles and standards in it, was whipped mercilessly by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
It looked like the UP Tradition was going to be wiped out of Ghana’s politics for good. Because, from the way things are going if the NPP does not re-brand itself and bring back onboard the standards and principles of the UP, then more millions will desert the party in 2028 and by 2032, the NPP will be reduced to the level of the CPP, PNC and those insignificant parties, and would be fighting over 3% of total votes cast during elections.
Strangely, by divine ordinance and certainly not by coincidence, three days after the sixty-eighth anniversary of the United Party another political party was formed by a blue-blooded UP Traditionalist, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen. And this new party is called the United Party (UP).
Speaking boldly and convincingly, Alan spelt of the principles and standards of the new United Party. He spoke and said, “Today we are ushering in a new dawn in Ghanaian politics; a new dawn that will end the divisiveness, acrimony and rancor in politics in our country; a dawn that will also end the duopoly in Ghanaian politics by offering Ghanaians a credible alternative and eliminate the culture of “Winner Takes All”; a new dawn that will bring about economic transformation which will translate into massive job opportunities, usher in a golden age of business and create prosperity for Ghana; a new dawn that will mobilize the collective talents of all Ghanaians for national development, irrespective of age, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation; a new dawn that will promote accountable and transparent governance and introduce a policy of zero tolerance for corruption; and last but not the least, a new dawn that will protect the environment and promote sustainable development.”
The new UP is a broad-based, Centrist Party that seeks to build a united Ghana and accelerate the economic and social transformation of the country by mobilizing the collective strengths and talents of all Ghanaians.
According to the leader of the UP, its vision is to make Ghana the economic powerhouse of Africa by the year 2040 and that Vision 2024 is branded as the Paradise Project.
Hon. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, spelt out many issues facing the country today and he sounded very convincing that should he get the nod in 2028, he would begin the process of re-branding this country and make it a rich and powerful nation.
He did not sound like the NDC in opposition when the top members promised Ghanaians that it is only through a state of emergency that illegal and irresponsibly mining aka galamsey can be halted, yet ten months in power the NDC is now telling us state of emergency is not the solution and that the state is benefiting from galamsey, more so without galamsey, four million youths will become unemployed.
He did not sound like the NDC guru who condemned Nana Addo for using private jets on his foreign travels and vowed to step out of office and resign his post of minister should President Mahama step into a private jet to travel overseas. Mahama did that on a number of occasions and yet Ghanaians have not heard of the minister resigning.
The UP, with experienced politicians in the helm of affairs, can be the alternative Ghanaians would need should the NDC and NPP not do the right things.
Sixty-eight years ago, this month, the United Party was born. It brought hope to Ghanaians until it was shot down by Nkrumah and listed as an anti-Ghanaian party. Sixty-eight years after, exactly to the month, the United Party (UP) has been resurrected, exactly three days after its birthday. This new UP looks certain to unite all Ghanaians and this could pose problems for the two leading parties.
The disappointed liberals in the NDC may look at the UP as the best alternative and the disappointed pro-UP NPP members may defect to join the UP. Already there are 2.1 million disappointed NPP members waiting and watching. If the UP demonstrates to be a better party, then these and millions more from the NPP would become members of the new UP.
The New Patriotic Party must sit up and start doing the right things and reinstalling the good old standards and principles that the party was admired for during the early nineties to 2008. Nothing other than that would see the party losing members.
The NPP elders, who are promising to get Alan back to the party, must know that their dreams cannot be achieved. A new United Party (UP) has come and it has come to stay.
Hon. Daniel Dugan
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