Political intolerance: NPP, NDC are the same – Gyampo

A six-month study, spanning January to June 2020, and involving some 315 respondents purposively sampled among supporters of both the NDC and NPP has shown that the supporters of both the NDC and NPP are all intolerant.

The study, undertaken by Professor Ransford Gyampo of the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, was aimed at contributing to the survival of multiparty democracy through the institutionalization of Political Tolerance among political parties and their support base.

According to Prof Gyampo, when the NDC was in government, some of its young appointees and core supporters were described by Jerry Rawlings as “babies with sharp teeth” to depict the height of intolerance among them. Regrettably, Prof Gyampo noted that the support base of the ruling NPP are also guilty of same crime of political intolerance.

He added that his research show that the support base of the two parties are intolerant, not only when their Political Parties are in power, but even in opposition.

Professor Gyampo says he intends to publish the research paper as a journal article in a scholarly journal. But he had this to say in his concluding remarks, in a brief interview with our reporter:

“The sad reality is that, some NPP apparatchiks are intolerant. But some NDC apparatchiks are also not tolerant, even in opposition. Those seeking to maintain power, must know how to tame the arrogance of power and be tolerant of dissent. Those who seek power, must also know how to comport themselves, to show a clear difference between what is there, and the alternative.

“It is boring to continue to see the two main parties as the same, in terms of their respective abilities to be tolerant. Let there be difference, if any of them is to be taken seriously by discerning election king-makers”.