After losing the 2020 presidential election, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in a shocking move, captured Parliament by winning the Speaker position to the chagrin of the New Patriotic Party, which was counting on its leaning independent MP to take the speakership with Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye in the saddle.
Far from the mistaken notion that it is a Ghanaian-voter aberration of 137 – 137 MPs apiece, the NDC set out to capture the legislative arm, using the former Member of Parliament for Nadowli Kaleo in the Upper West Region, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin as its trump card.
Though the party did not have the numbers, it nominated Mr. Bagbin for the Speaker position and confidently declared that it was winning and went ahead to win.
It was not the campaign anyone predicted because the independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Fomena, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, had announced publicly he would align with the NPP in Parliament.
The NDC MPs, led by Haruna Iddrisu, came into the Chamber of Parliament earlier than the NPP counterparts, dressed in all white apparels, and forcibly took over seats meant for the party in the majority.
They also made sure the Assin North MP, James Gyekye Quayson, entered the Chamber and took part in the voting process despite the injunction placed on him by a Cape Coast High Court.
Showing signs of positivity and high sense of confidence, the NDC stood up to the challenge, fiercely fought for secret balloting, sang victory and revolutionary songs, and vigilantly policed the speaker election process to the conclusion, having done their homework.
All these actions of the NDC took place amidst a once-in-unprecedented hung parliament, running against an unconventional, precedent-defying incumbent NPP.
With a clear strategic plan, the NDC found a way to navigate the political obstacles and claim a victory, using multiple tactics to achieve the strategy, and exploiting the known weaknesses of its opponent (NPP).
Part of the NDC’s win of the speakership was the opposition party’s unrelenting source of news cycle churn, despite losing the presidency, and making the bigger stories – “We have majority and will form majority and elect Speaker” – dominating national attention.
On the other hand, the NPP went into the selection of the speaker with high certainty, it lost the speaker election because it appeared not to have any plan for it, just believing things would happen naturally, forgetting that the outcome of a competition is the strategic planning.
One NPP member posted on social media, “What was NDC’s goal? To elect an NDC speaker of parliament, although they knew they didn’t have the numbers. Their strategy was to find the numbers to achieve the goal. Their tactics were to get 100% NDC votes, snatch two or three NPP votes, occupy the majority side of the House, and use ‘takashei’ to intimidate the opponent.”
He continued: “They implemented the strategy and tactics to perfection and won in the spirit of competition. A successful football team or a boxer must know the tactical weaknesses and natural vulnerabilities of the opponent.”
According to him, the NDC knew that NPP was naturally vulnerable and exploited its vulnerability after the opposition party identified that some of its NPP MPs were still harbouring pain in their hearts and therefore could be easy “picks when bribed.”
The NPP man said the party’s leadership could not see through these because it was fixated on building consensus without recognizing that it was purely a competition.
“In competition, you fight to win. Competition is not a time for giving concessions. It is time to beat your opponent. This, the NDC understood too well and played to the rules of the game. Simplicita!”
By Ernest Kofi Adu