Dr. Bossman Asare (middle)
The Head of the Political Science Department, University of Ghana, Legon, Dr. Bossman Asare, has said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is likely to clinch a landslide victory in the forthcoming polls.
This, he said, would be made possible because of the inability of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to manage the economy and other resources of the country as expected.
He disclosed this while speaking at a roundtable conference themed, ‘Expanding the frontiers of electoral politics in Ghana’ yesterday hosted by the department.
Many think-tanks and scholars were in attendance at the function.
Speaking on the subject, “the different political parties, presidential candidates and their political platforms,” he observed that the two major political parties have maintained their candidates from the 2012 elections, adding that with the diminishing influence of the third parties, it is likely that Ghanaians would witness a first round victory.
“The NPP candidate is contesting for the third time and it appears with economic challenges the country has been experiencing in recent times, this candidate exudes so much confidence in the electorate to vote for him and a vice presidential candidate, who has persistently been a thorn in the flesh of the ruling government,” he noted.
He predicted that the 2016 election was definitely going to pull surprises for the first time since independence, adding that the 2016 election will have a divided government for the first time since independence.
The academic described Alhaji Bawumia as a candidate who has brought lots of attraction to the NPP due to his knowledge about the economy, but expressed disappointment that he has become a figure for insults and all forms of attacks from government and the NDC.
Dr. Bossman Asare further explained that incumbency advantage may not always be a winning ticket for government in power in every situation, especially when people feel dissatisfied with its performance.
“NDC has the President of the Republic as their candidate. No sitting President has lost election in Ghana’s fourth republic; nonetheless the reality is that the environment now looks different,” he noted.
He mentioned that much as the ruling NDC during its tenure of office has embarked on a number of infrastructural projects, it was not enough to overturn the very high rate of unemployment, poor management of the economy, power crisis and the high incidence of corruption that has engulfed the country.
The Director, Africa Region-International Initiative for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi, said that Africa has lost trail of the ideals of the founding fathers of the continent who made sacrifices to fight for independence from the colonial masters.
He blamed the continent’s present state on greed of its leaders who rather exploit their people.
By Solomon Ofori