Political Parties Outside Parliament jabs NDC over disconcerting pronouncements

The Political Parties Outside Parliament (PPOP) within the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) has issued a press statement to banter a press conference organized by the National Democratic Congress(NDC).

The statement issued by the Group noted that Ghana has made and will continue to give rise to the electoral process and the just ended 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections as it came off with enormous attainments and prospects but with awful security setbacks occurring in the very grievous loss of lives of some acquaintances.

"Even though other political parties outside Parliament may be facing dire resource challenges we have the wealth of ideas, commitment and sincerity that match or even surpasses that of the duopoly in Parliament. Indeed it is also a known fact that we nurture and fertilize opinions of our citizenry in alternatives from which the duopoly pick a leaf or two.

The NDC should not forget that the CPP and to some extent the PNC derived from the PNP had once formed government and been in Parliament. Their present situation does not diminish their intelligence and policy relevance." Parts of the communique read.

Below is the full press statement:

Wednesday 26th May 2021

Political parties outside parliament (PPOP) press statement

Response to NDC press conference insults to political parties outside parliament

1.Welcome distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media to this press conference organized by the Political Parties outside Parliament within IPAC, Inter-Party Advisory Committee.

2.Ghana has made and continues to make great strides into our electoral process and the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections came off with tremendous achievements and prospects but with unfortunate security setbacks resulting in the very regrettable loss of lives of some compatriots.

3.It, therefore, stands to reason that all stakeholders of IPAC undertook to review the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections with the view to fashioning out an adequate road map of sustaining the gains, and eliminating any shortcoming in order to deepen Ghana’s electoral and democratic process.

4.By the global norm of easing an environment of pluralism to nurture multiparty democracy there is an increasing effort to expand the frontiers of participation by the citizenry for national development.

Governments since the inception of the 1992 fourth republican constitution have been under the imperative of a participatory democracy which we are yet to achieve fully.

5.The NDC at its press Conference of 20th May, 2021 made disconcerting pronouncements that threaten the very foundation of our democracy in their purported response to the proposed IPAC electoral reforms concluded at a 2day retreat on 18th and 19th May 2021 at the Alisa Hotel, Accra.

6.Political Parties outside Parliament as Stakeholders of IPAC wish to place on record and to the notice of the media and citizens of our nation three (3) issues of mindset and attitude of NDC as depicted in their press statement that undermines the deepening and sustenance of our democratic achievements in the fourth republic.

i. Supposed Temporary boycott of IPAC: Among many reasons the NDC assigned to its boycott of IPAC as pronounced by the NDC Director of Elections is the inequitable voting rights at IPAC debates and denigrating other parties outside parliament.

This contradicts the tendency and attitude of the NDC in the recent past when it rallied the support of other parties to advance many objectives of the NDC. This is legion but suffice it to recount a few.

The NDC enlisted the support of a Coalition called (IPRAN, Inter-Party Resistance Against New Voter Register of Ghana) featuring prominently Gyataba’s UFP, Odike’s UPP, Bernard Morna’s PNC, Ayariga’s APC, etc; and it is an open secret to all political actors who were involved and participated in several demonstrations throughout Ghana.

By extension, we could in future have the absurdity of the same equitable voice by segregation of the number of votes of a parliamentary seat.

Today the NDC would call other Parties worthless but it forgets that it has pulled its own archival political parties as part of its voice, namely EGLE and Reform Party.

Not long ago the venerable Ghana Freedom Party Presidential Candidate, Madam Akua Donkor, acted as the NDC Policy oracle and was prominent in the NDC Presidential entourage to Senchi forum as well as on foreign trips which included the same allied Political Party Leaders, namely, Gyataba, Akwasi Addai Odike, Bernard Morna, etc. What has changed now for this new position of seeking equity in voting at IPAC demanded by the NDC?

In keeping with a sound pluralistic atmosphere, the participation by other political parties outside parliament has been and continues to be beneficial in nurturing our multiparty participatory Democracy.

Indeed any obnoxious impediments to widening the frontiers of participation of the citizenry and other political parties must not be accepted in the era of information technology and demand for national accountability.

Even though other political parties outside Parliament may be facing dire resource challenges we have the wealth of ideas, commitment and sincerity that match or even surpasses that of the duopoly in Parliament. Indeed it is also a known fact that we nurture and fertilize opinions of our citizenry in alternatives from which the duopoly pick a leaf or two.

The NDC should not forget that the CPP and to some extent the PNC derived from the PNP had once formed government and been in Parliament. Their present situation does not diminish their intelligence and policy relevance.

ii. NDC Alternate Reforms :The arguments the NDC advanced in its supposed alternate reforms could have been better stated and shared at IPAC and not outside. To consider its boycott of IPAC as temporary and to rejoin at any future date will just be a ploy to attract undeserved public attention, a disappointment and a dereliction of duty to its supporters.

A SORE LOSER: :The persistent condemnation by NDC of political parties that expressed support for the compilation of the 2020 new voters register at a joint IPAC and Eminent Advisory Committee meeting exposed NDC as a Sore Loser.

At a 2-day workshop in 2015 at Alisa Hotel political parties purportedly supported the NDC rejection of a new voter register under Madam Charlotte Osei.

How “fia-fia” were the political parties then?

It is common knowledge that in a democracy obsession with desire for power does not translate into an entitlement when all parties must subject themselves to rules and process.

iii. Political Grandstanding

The saying that if wishes were horses beggars will ride aptly applies to the NDC in their unrelenting posture of seeing every act in our democratic process as going against them as the largest opposition.

It is a dictatorial and seditious attitude to think that the NDC should always have its way.

Indeed the NDC itself has Superintended over many of the issues it complains of today. The tradition has thus been inherited from the NDC.

We have seen the NPP in a minority which also pursued its demands but never boycotted IPAC, not that we may recall. The premises of the EC equally if not more has been militarized in the tenure of Madam Charlotte Osei when the NPP was a minority.

Again there must be a decent closure to every dispute pursued appropriately by a democratic process or adjudicated at a competent court of jurisdiction. Political grandstanding in casting aspersions and innuendoes at democratically mandated state institutions smacks of deliberate sedition that the state has obligation to nip in the bud.

RESPECT FOR ALTERNATE OPINION:

The mindset and attitude of the NDC by its response to the IPAC proposed electoral reforms and speaking through its Director of Elections Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, is like our folk hero, Kwaku Ananse, in the legend of Ananse’s fantasy to sweep all wisdom into a gourd to be hung on a treetop.

When Kwaku Ananse thought he had accomplished the feat and was to send the gourd unto a treetop, he, unfortunately, impeded his climb by placing the gourd on his belly.

It took supposedly worthless little NTIKUMAH to suggest to Kwaku to place the gourd on his back, demonstrating that Kwaku was on a worthless pursuit. Ghana has already made very worthy strides into democratic goals of humanity, peace and development which no clever arguments can dispute.

Political Parties outside parliament will therefore appeal to the NDC to place their wisdom gourd on their back so we can all together reach the zenith of our democracy for the peace and development of our people.

GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA AND MAKE US GREAT AND STRONG!!