From candidate selection to party cohesion: Strategic necessities after the flagbearer contest

A retired missionary, Dr Ian Trail, once observed that “unity is not the absence of disagreement but a consensus to agree to work together.”

In human institutions, particularly political parties, difference is not a defect but a natural expression of diversity and conviction.

What sustains such institutions is not the silencing of dissent, but the ability to rise above it in pursuit of a shared purpose.

History, both local and global, consistently shows that political success is not driven solely by popularity, ethnicity, or religion but by unity of purpose, clarity of vision and disciplined organisation.

Leadership undoubtedly matters in politics. Whoever leads a political party enjoys visibility, authority and the responsibility of setting direction. Yet leadership alone does not win elections.

Parties succeed when they subordinate personal ambition, internal sentiment and factional preference to a collective mission (Campbell et al., 1960; Katz, 1980; Diamond, 2006; Afrobarometer, 2022).

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reached such a moment.

With the party’s democratic processes producing Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as its flagbearer, the task before the NPP is no longer to debate, hesitate or remain silent. The task is to unite and rally behind the party’s vision, record and future promise.

It is important to confront, calmly and honestly, some of the unspoken anxieties within sections of the party. Dr Bawumia represents a demographic minority in terms of religion and ethnicity.

In Ghanaian politics, such factors are sometimes whispered about, often exaggerated and frequently misunderstood. Political maturity demands that the NPP rise above these narrow calculations.

Political history offers many examples of “unlikely candidates” who prevailed, not because they fit traditional expectations, but because their parties stood firmly behind them.

Barack Obama was once widely described as unelectable: a young senator, a racial minority, and a name many believed America was not ready to accept. What changed the outcome was not identity alone, but a party and movement unified around a shared message and purpose.

Similarly, Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years of imprisonment with no formal executive experience to lead a deeply divided South Africa.

Many doubted his capacity to govern. What secured his victory was not personal appeal alone, but the African National Congress (ANC) closing ranks and presenting him as a symbol of reconciliation. Party unity reassured voters and the international community alike.

Political parties do not win elections by merely liking a candidate; they win by mobilising behind one (Campbell et al., 1960).

In the United States, Donald Trump was widely viewed as an outsider, rejected by party elites and considered unelectable by most analysts.

He lacked political pedigree and was deeply polarising. Yet once he secured the Republican nomination, the party largely rallied behind him, and victory followed.

Closer to home, John Agyekum Kufuor was once dismissed as “too soft” and “too gentlemanly” after earlier defeats to Prof Adu Boahen and Jerry John Rawlings. However, when the NPP united decisively behind him in 2000, scepticism gave way to confidence and electoral success.

A more recent example reinforces this lesson. After losing the 2016 election as an incumbent, many commentators had written off John Dramani Mahama as politically exhausted.

The outcome of the 2024 election proved otherwise. What changed was not the candidate, but party resolve.

When the National Democratic Congress (NDC) closed ranks, muted internal dissent and projected unity, it transformed perceived weakness into momentum. Voters responded not only to the candidate, but to the confidence the party showed in its own choice.

For the NPP, the stakes ahead of 2028 extend beyond the fortunes of any single individual. They involve the preservation of the party’s ideological tradition, its development-oriented philosophy and its long-term relevance in Ghana’s democratic evolution. Fragmentation or passive resistance would weaken not only the flagbearer, Dr Bawumia, but the party itself.

This is why reconciliation within the NPP is not merely a moral appeal; it is a strategic necessity.

It must also be acknowledged that the internal contest produced sharp words and public statements that will not disappear simply because a flagbearer has been declared. Remarks made during the primaries, including allegations and critiques exchanged among contenders, now form part of the public record and may be exploited by political opponents.

History, however, shows that humility, remorse and open reconciliation are not signs of weakness but of strategic wisdom. Public acknowledgment of excesses, sincere apologies and deliberate efforts to heal internal wounds often restore credibility and signal readiness to govern.

Party members who supported other aspirants must now see themselves not as defeated factions, but as co-owners of a collective project. Victory in 2028 will not be achieved through personality cults or individual heroics, but through disciplined messaging, grassroots mobilisation and renewed commitment to the party’s founding values of property-owning democracy, economic freedom and inclusive national development.

The real question, therefore, is not whether 2028 is “for Bawumia” or “for someone else,” but whether 2028 will be for the NPP.

If the party speaks with one voice, campaigns with one vision and presents a united front to the electorate, yesterday’s differences can become tomorrow’s strength. Unity does not erase diversity; it organises it towards victory. History favours parties that recognise this truth early enough.

The time has come for the NPP family to close ranks, heal internal divisions and move forward together, because in politics, as in life, only a house built on unity can withstand the storm.