‘The primary contenders’ book to be officially unveiled at public forum

All roads lead to the Ghana International Press Centre on Thursday, September 20, 2018, as renowned political analyst, Lecturer and talk show host, Dr. Etse Sikanku will officially unveil the latest addition to his analysis, with a book titled, “The primary contenders” (analysis of the 2018 NDC presidential primaries and candidates).

The book which aims to contribute to entrenching the foundation of Ghana’s democracy by focusing on the NDC presidential primaries, will be officially displayed at the forum which will bring together political luminaries as well as the general public to discuss the chances of the aspirants.

Experts for the panel discussion at the forum include: Prof. Yaw Gyampo, a research fellow with the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr.Kobby Mensah, Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School; Mr. Franklin Cudjoe,President of policy think-thank, Imani Africa; and Paul Adom-Otchere, host of flagship political show, “Good evening Ghana”.

The purpose of this forum is to have a panel discussion on the current the primary process of Ghana’s current largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) against the backdrop of Dr. Sikanku’s recently released book, “The Presidential Contenders”.

The forum will assess the candidates, issues dominating the campaign, campaign style and strategy, the role of the media, the chances of the candidates, the nature of the primary campaigns in Ghana while using the forum to offer insightful assessments of other aspects of the primaries and candidates. It will help to raise awareness, encourage political education, civic education and public participation in a democratic process. The forum will thus offer the space for critical, comprehensive and contextual assessments of the candidates putting themselves up to lead Ghana’s current largest opposition party, the NDC.

Speaking to the media ahead of the forum, Dr. Etse Sikanku said, “Presidential primaries are important for several reasons: they help to legitimize the democratic process, inform the public on the position and ideas of potential candidates, help to entrench democracy while giving the chance to citizens to scrutinize the candidates putting themselves up to lead the nation”.



“The primary contenders” is a contribution to entrenching the foundations of Ghana's democracy by focusing on the presidential primaries. It offers an overview of the candidates, their strengths, and weaknesses, where they stand and strategies to adopt. There is a section on political framing and branding, repairing one's political image in times of crisis and a SWOT analysis of the candidates. This is a pivotal contribution to political education in Africa by offering immediate analysis of a current issue—the first draft of history.