Electoral modalities caused NPP’s defeat - Political Scientist

A political science professor says there is nothing wrong with the current status quo in the NPP where party officers are elected from the grassroot first before finally electing flagbearer despite a new proposal to do the reverse.

He believes the country’s electoral system is the cause of the New Patriotic Party’s defeat in the 2012 elections.

His comment comes after a crucial National Executive Council meeting Thursday finally threw out a contentious proposal for an early congress to elect a flagbearer.

The Head of the Political Science Department of the KNUST, Professor Amoako Baah, says the electoral modalities are the cause of the NPP’s defeat and not the party’s internal structure.

He says most people in the party already believe the party won the December 2012 presidential elections despite being declared losers by the Electoral Commission.

This is why the party went to the Supreme Court for eight months to challenge the declaration of the Electoral Commission in favour of the incumbent John Mahama, he adds.

In view of this widely held position in the NPP, the party’s internal structure is okay, he noted.

“If it is not broken and you try to fix it then you are trying to break it, he said.

For weeks the opposition NPP has been buffeted by internal wrangling over a new proposal defended in the media by some national leaders such as the Chairman Jake Obetsibi-Lamptey and the Deputy Minority leader in Parliament Dominic Nutiwul.

They contend choosing a flagbearer first will help “superintend on the choice of the grassroot people and make sure the right people are put there”.

A National Executive Council meeting was held last week to scrutinize the proposal. But the meeting witnessed angry party youths spontaneously demonstrating against the proposal at the party head office.

They say an early congress is meant to favour former presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.

The two-time flagbearer enjoyed a surge in popularity after leading personalities in the country and a number of world leaders praised him for using the court to address his dissatisfaction after losing the 2012 presidential elections.

Dissenting voices such as former Minister for Information Stephen Asamoah Boateng also believe if Nana Akufo-Addo gets elected, it will help the current national executives to also get re-elected and increase their political life span despite failing to get the party into power last December. But after Thursday’s NEC meeting, the status quo prevails.