Everyone goes into a contest to win. Losers, we are told, are orphans as they have no following, while winners are the toasts of society.
It is against this backdrop that we reiterate what John Mahama said after his embarrassing defeat in 2016. He is on record to have said that his residence at Cantonments in Accra which used to be a beehive of activities was deserted by even his party people after the results were announced, as not even a “bird” flew over.
It is this painful experience that everybody who goes into a contest tries to avoid. Nonetheless, every election throws up losers and winners. This is what would play up tomorrow during the parliamentary primaries in constituencies where the NPP has sitting MPs.
It is going to be explosive in certain constituencies while others would be calm. We need not remind the NPP leadership to put in place the necessary strategies to achieve yet another resounding success at the primaries. The party, under Mr. Stephen Ntim and his lieutenants, requires the peace and unity of the rank and file to prosecute the agenda to break the eight. Every human institution, cannot get the kind of peace in the cemetery. Whatever the case, there is bound to be dissonance in some of the constituencies, but we believe the party would be able to manage it to bring the factions together.
This scenario plays up after the election because even the candidate with the least following would make loud proclamations about being the best candidate. Those who poll “lotto numbers” even in national elections tell their followers they are in the contest for the ultimate.
Certain constituencies are already boiling ahead of tomorrow’s polls, and we urge the national leadership to pay special attention there to secure peaceful outcomes just like it happened during a similar exercise in orphan constituencies.
The circumstances cannot be said to be the same, as some sitting MPs believe they have the “divine right of Kings,” but in political contests, delegates are desirous of putting their best foot forward. So far, the NPP is managing the disagreement very well to avoid the situation of breakaways so it can go into Election 2024 with a united front.
It is however, regrettable that the NPP leadership has maintained a very loud silence over the bad example of Mr. O.B. Amoah, MP for Akuapem South who filed to contest only to withdraw a week to tomorrow’s primaries to give his aide an advantage, and by so doing making sure the MCE of the area, Frank Aidoo, does not have the opportunity to contest.
We hope this unfair treatment will be addressed in due course by the leadership.
Be that as it may, we urge all delegates to put the party first when they enter the polling booth to cast their vote, but not for the highest bidder. By now, the delegates should have realized that when they give their vote to the highest bidder, such personalities do not deliver because they paid for the votes. Election must not be on sale but purely an exercise to give the people the opportunity to make free choices. And tomorrow’s contest is one such exercise for the people to exercise free choices.
We urge the delegates and the candidates, including the sitting MPs who are even Ministers of State, to respect the rules put in place by the party for the election to be supervised by the Electoral Commission (EC), with security provided by the police.
We urge total respect for the rules in the exercise of this crucial internal contest devoid of intimidation so that at the end of the day, the NPP becomes the ultimate winner. The outcome would set in motion the agenda to break the eight. The journey for the NPP to retain power begins with tomorrow’s primaries.
By the way, what is the GJA saying about Hawa Koomson? Is a boycott the solution to the assault on journalists? This is unfair and we call on the GJA led by the otherwise fair-minded President, Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor to come again!