In December 2024, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) experienced what is the worst electoral defeat in the history of Ghana. The defeat even surpassed that of John Dramani Mahama, which was close to over a million and a half votes.
The defeat was so humiliating that the presidential candidate was able to garner less than 40%, and the party’s seats were so eroded in parliament that the ruling party even gained an absolute majority.
It had been the expectation of many, particularly the members of the party, that the party would conduct the necessary investigations, introspection and corrections before getting to the onerous decision of selecting party leadership at all levels.
The party announced a committee to go around the country to conduct investigations. It seems, from the pronouncements of Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia on his ‘campaign tour’ that the findings of the committee were coalesced into a message for him to espouse around the country, and to build on for his own ‘comeback’ as a candidate.
In effect, the wiseacres who currently manage the NPP believe that it is better to hitch the wellbeing and aspirations of the party to the ambitions of one man, instead of finding long-term and durable solutions to find out why the party lost, and offer curative solutions.
It is like putting a bandage on a suppurating wound. Eventually, the puss would find its way through the cotton of the bandage.
The decision to elect the flag bearer, is with the obvious intention to get Bawumia elected, and to stop other candidates from finding their footing.
It is ill-advised for that party, and may have an even worse effect than the conditions that drove the likes of Alan Kyeremanteng and others out of that party.
They would do well to scupper the decision to hold the congress in January, and go back to the hard work that needs to be done!
(Editorial of the Daily Searchlight of 20th June, 2025).
