How the NPP can ‘Break the 8’

In the midst of a leadership contest that augurs badly for the electoral fortunes of the NPP, care must be taken in selecting the right flagbearer to boost their chances of winning the forthcoming National Elections in December 2024.

The Elections which has been dubbed ‘Breaking the 8’, is an attempt by the NPP to win 3 successive elections in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, a feat that has never been accomplished by any of the two leading political parties.

Contrary to the naysayers belief, ‘Breaking the 8’ is possible if the NPP delegates, who are responsible for choosing the next leader, put the interests of the party first and select a candidate that will appeal to their disillusioned support base and the floating voters that are seeking a new direction in our political discourse.

The NPP government has had an abysmal 4 years and regardless of what caused this situation, the masses are disappointed in their effort. One can safely deduce that the NPP cannot go to the next election on their record of governance and achievements in the last 7 years.

However, the alternative isn’t appealing either, as the NDC government was equally shambolic and they are presenting the same bad leadership to the electorate. Ghanaians face a conundrum and potentially apathy could rear it’s ugly head amongst the electorate and masses of people will avoid voting in the next election.

The super delegate’s conference for the NPP Flag bearer, where the 10 Candidates will be trimmed to 5 candidates on the 26th August, 2023, will be crucial for who ultimately becomes the leader and I hope the delegates are ruthless in their decision making.

One of the two leading candidates has to go at this stage, to create the scope for the other delegates to determine who the party believes will be electable for the NPP.

To ‘Break the 8’, the NPP has to be realistic and aggressive in their quest of identifying who is electable amongst the candidates. The delegates need to consider the following factors that could make or break the possibility of winning the next election.

‘Breaking the 8’ would be critical for the NPP, as continuity will provide the government with the opportunity of redeeming it’s chequered credibility. However, it will be naïve of the NPP to present a candidate that is currently active and has featured prominently in the present government. Convincing the electorate to vote for such a candidate, tarnished by the government’s poor record will be short-sighted.

Splits within the NPP looms if a candidate is foisted onto the party, because they aim to appease the parochial interests of a candidate, where the party is concerned about being deemed as representative of a particular tribe, as opposed to another.

There are more fundamental issues that have to be addressed within the party, especially where the President refused to replace the Finance Minister after a substantial number of MP’s signed a petition to have him removed, due to hardships amongst their constituents and the potential damage it may cause the MP’s during the next election.

An assessment of successive Flagbearers of the NPP, suggests there is a succession process of electing leaders based on the longevity in the party, loyalty, service to the party and contributions made towards it’s upkeep etc. Even though the NPP stands for democratic principles, it is imperative to maintain such a convention to help clearly identify the next leader and reward them for their commitment and contribution to the party.

At a time when the NPP is struggling to have an audience with the populace, due to the present economic hardships, the last thing that should happen in the election of the Flagbearer is a protracted process that will likely result in candidates having a go at each other, to the detriment of an already wounded NPP. This could ultimately split the party, with followers of the losing candidate staying away from voting, which will harm the NPP’s electoral fortunes.

The NPP must desist from providing their opponents with an easy target, where they elect a candidate that has been heavily lambasted and deemed untrustworthy due to previous claims, coupled with their inability to provide viable solutions during the government’s challenges. Doing so will be tantamount to relinquishing power to the opposition.

The Delegates ought to be savvy in their selection and shouldn’t be swayed by financial support on the part of any of the candidates willing to spend any amount of money to secure the flagbearership.

Delegates must not lose track of the fact that whoever wins the ticket for the flagbearer, they will be faced with a formidable opponent that has plenty of ammunition in the form of the bad record of the NPP in government. It will be inimical to the NPP to exacerbate their present predicament with a candidate that the opposition can easily target and seek to define the election based on the failures of the last 8 years.

In addition to that, the NPP must be weary of the electorate feeling fatigued by presenting a candidate that has played a major role in the present government, whilst attempting to convince them that they will be offering something different. This can easily be deemed as arrogant and the delegates cannot be myopic in thinking selecting the NPP flagbearer is about who merely leads the NPP.

The delegates ought to look at how Ghanaians perceive of the candidates’ character, personality traits, record of the candidate in government, who is immune from scandal, who is revered by both NPP and the NDC supporters due to their persona, amongst others. The candidate should be acceptable to Ghanaians and not just the NPP.

To do the right thing involves putting sentiments to one side, be realistic about the fact that the NPP government has failed and will require a monumental message to convince Ghanaians to give them another 4 years to govern. The task is not impossible, but after 8 years where there hasn’t been a major reshuffle in government and virtually the same faces have been at the helm, it makes sense to present a different face to rekindle the interest of the teeming NPP supporters that the party is taking a different turn.

The delegates, on the 26th August, 2023, should be brave in their choices and should be emphatic in rejecting one of the leading candidates that has been deemed ‘damaged goods’, due to his pronouncements and the role he has played in the present government. The NPP need to take a new direction and after 15 years of Nana Addo’s reign of the NPP, it is time to usher in a new team that will promote a new philosophy for the NPP and Ghana in general.