The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a center-right liberal democratic party with roots from the United Party Tradition. It is a Tradition which encourages freedom of expression, acceptance of diverse views and collective participation for the common good of members and Ghanaians.
Unfortunately, a strange form of political ideology which I will call democratic dictatorship found its way into the party. Why this name? In a dictatorship, only one person can express his thoughts and only he can decide on which way the state should go. He or she would have people to support those ideas which are mostly baseless and gross violations on rights. A dictator is the one who would decide who should succeed him and anyone against that is considered an enemy and would be treated as such.
Initially, the NPP had a selected group of delegates who would elect party officers, parliamentary and presidential candidates. Things run coolly until in 1998, attempts were made to influence the delegates with money to vote a certain way during the presidential primaries in Sunyani, Bono. The principle stands, taking by Hon. Dan Botwe, resulted in him sealing the voting arena and making sure that no moneybag entered. This saved the day and H.E. J.A. Kufuor was re-elected flag bearer by some 1,993 delegates.
Kufuor went on to win the 2000 presidential election to become the first person from the UP Tradition to become leader of this country, in 29 years, after Dr. K.A. Busia of the Progress Party was removed from office in January 1972.
The next presidential primary was in 2007, with 2,293 delegates and which Nana Akufo-Addo won after Alan ceded to him.
The elders of the Party, felt that the number of delegates was not representative enough and so expanded the electoral college to include all polling station, electoral area and constituency executive members to add on to the regional, national and other officers of the party. This was to prevent buying of votes and to ensure that no one was influenced before casting his or her votes. Initially, this took the numbers to over 106,000 delegates for the 2010 presidential primary.
But something very undemocratic was forced unto the Party. It is called the Super Delegates Congress. The job of this congress is to pick five aspirants ‘fit’ enough to contest in the main primary, if the number of aspirants exceeded five.
The Super Delegate Congress, according to the Party’s Constitution consists of the following: the National Council, the National Executive Committee, Regional Executive Committees, National Council of Elders, the Party’s members of Parliament, three representatives of each special organ of the Party, past National Officers, three representatives each from the external branches, Founding Members of the Party and card bearing ministers of state, if the party is in power.
In the last Super Delegates Congress, less than 1,000 people made up the Electoral College. Now here we are. If the elders of the party are saying 2,000 people can be easily influenced to vote a certain way, so the college was expanded to over 100,000, what is the business of a so-called Super Delegates Congress, which does not make up even 1,000 people? Can 1,000 people not be more easily influenced to vote a certain way, than 2,000 people?
And so, it happened, the Institution was established. Just having one powerful person handling affairs can turn the whole of the Super Delegates Congress and the National Delegates Congress to vote in a certain way. And this is what can also be called democratic dictatorship.
The Super Delegates who are considered highly in the Party could influence the National Delegates Congress and showed them the way to vote. One thing is that if the Institution notices that an aspirant is a threat to it, it can make the Super Delegates Congress to vote that person out.
In November 2023, over 192,000 members of the Party participated in the presidential primary which elected Dr. Bawumia, as the flag bearer.Even that huge number was influenced financially and with other gifts.
In the NPP at the moment any powerful person can decide who gets elected into office as flag bearer and parliamentary candidate. By this method, the ordinary party supporter could have different opinion and either vote against the party’s choice or not vote at all.
In the recent Super Delegates Congress, taking Ashanti region as an example, for reasons to explained further, only three aspirants had votes there. Kennedy Agyapong had 6 votes (5.1%), Alan Kyerematen had 10 votes (8.5%), Afriyie Akoto had 5 votes (4.2%) and Bawumia had 97 votes (82.2%) making up 118 votes.
Suddenly, Ghanaians were told the NPP will win over 80% of Ashanti votes in the presidential race on December 7, 2024. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
There is another electoral body in the NPP, another group of delegates, who votes only on General Elections Day. This body will meet at lorry stations, markets, barbers’ shops, hair dressing salons, drinking bars, after church and mosques and where have you, in very small and insignificant numbers take decision on how to vote.
So, it happened all over Ghana, but most significantly in Ashanti region. The NPP supporters decided to deny their party the votes needed to win the elections. While the Super Delegates in Ashanti region gave Bawumia 82.2%, the main body of party supporters gave him only 65% and meanwhile the NDC who pleaded with Ashanti region to give it just 30% of the valid votes cast, to be able to win the presidential election was awarded 33%, for its humility.
On an NPP platform, made up of some respected people of the Party, there is discussion on bringing on board, OMOV or One-Man-One-Vote which will make all card bearing members of the Party eligible to vote in all internal elections in the Party.
This will mean the ordinary supporter of NPP can decide who should lead the Party. Since these people are not going to be under the influence and control of the Institution, they will always pick, firstly those who can work for the NPP and those best to be elected as presidents and MPs. Their jurisdiction is expansive and they can meet anywhere and anytime and using findings of how things are going on, can rightly decide who can be the winner.
OMOV will encourage full participation in party activities and politics in general. What will make the people elect you will not be about what you have, but what you can do and what you are made up of. This is where virtues will be practiced in the Party. Pride, arrogance and impunity will make way for humility and respect for everyone.
OMOV will mean to register all the ordinary supporters of the Party and make them card-bearing members. Measures should be taken to make sure double-agents do not infiltrate. Firstly, the polling station executive members of the Party must indicate whether the applicant is indeed an NPP supporter. Secondly, there should be a moratorium period of five years, which should cover at least one General Election before the applicant can be allowed to vote in any internal election.
The elections should be in two parts. The first part should be all inclusive election of party officers, from the polling stations, electoral areas, constituencies, regional and national levels. And after a year, the second elections will take care of parliamentary and presidential candidates. Polling stations should be located in each electoral area.
Aspirants will have to do town hall meetings to meet with the party faithful before election day. This will make them very active. Those who want to be national or regional officers, will have to travel to all regions or all constituencies to show themselves to the party faithful, just as presidential aspirants will do.
With this form of elections, Super Delegates Congress and National Delegates Congress will be scrapped. The main decision-maker of the Party will be that card-bearing member who will sit under a drier at the hair dressing salon or in a bar, engaging in a debate as to who best fits to be given the nod. Since their decision will be mainly on grassroot level, whoever they decide on, could win the elections.
OMOV will remove the powers from regional, national and other leaders who take unilateral decisions and impose candidates who cannot fly on the party. No one can sit in his or her office and decide who should be parliamentary or presidential candidate. Feeling he or she has the power, they could demonize the best candidates because of some misunderstanding between them and pick favorites who will lose and bring disgrace to the party.
The power will be in the hands of the true members of the Party who will be only influence by the goodness and servitude they see in the aspirants and with clean hearts and minds they will choose the best.
By Hon Daniel Dugan
