After a marathon presidential primary to elect their party’s flag bearer for the 2012 general election, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) once again gave Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the second chance to win power for his party. And so for us at Today, we were not surprised at all that ahead of waiting for his official declaration, Nana Akufo-Addo, who contested in the 2008 election but lost marginally to then Candidate Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in his victory and acceptance speech at the Efua Sutherland Park in Accra, had this to tell party faithful and members who had thronged the place: “I will not let you down this time around.”
That statement from Nana Akufo Addo speaks volume of the fact that he will want to put up a good show come 2012, and that decision to win him the presidency which remain to be seen will be decided by the Ghanaian electorate in the 2012 poll. However, Today on this note seizes the opportunity to congratulate flag bearer-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his campaign team. It was indeed a grueling contest and he passed the test by getting an overwhelming massive endorsement by the party’s delegates. We also commend the four other aspirants—Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Lawyer Apostle Kwame Kodua and Mr. Isaac Osei—who in the spirit of democracy conceded defeat and respected the decision of their delegates.
Again, the paper is happy that no incident of clashes between supporters of the aspirants was reported in the 228 constituencies that participated in the election. We therefore applaud the delegates and the supporters of the aspirants for the maturity they exhibited prior to and after the election.
The NPP last Saturday’s congress was also historic; not only for our democratic dispensation but in Africa as this is the first time that we are having such a number of political party members exercising their franchise to choose a leader for their party to contest in a general election. And that is a plus not to Ghana’s democracy only but the strengthening of democratic tenants in Africa.
The expansion of the NPP’s Electoral College from 1,500-115,000 has no doubt deepened participatory democracy in the country. It goes to underline the fact that the people at the grassroots of political parties need to have an input in the selection of whoever will be elected to represent them at the national level.
Today hopes that the remaining political parties that will be going to congress to elect their presidential candidates will take a cue from the way the NPP conducted itself.
Most often than not national congress of parties that sees to the election of their presidential candidates have been characterised by chaos with some turning out to be nasty. There are instances in this country where parliamentary primaries have turned out to be bloody among factions in the same party.
This has often not boded well for our democracy. But, from the NPP’s success story last Saturday, we can assert that we are day-in-and-day-out being rooted in democratic values. It is in this vein that we urge the other political parties to draw lessons from the NPP delegates congress.
We hope that the remaining parties will help strengthen democratic values in this country.
