WHY NPP LOSES ELECTIONS

By Ekow Mensah

It is time for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to look within itself for the reasons for losing two elections on the trot.

In this exercise, it will be useful for the party to listen carefully to Dr. Kobina Arthur Kennedy, one of its leading lights who has done some work on the NPP’s loses.

In his book “Chasing the Elephant into the Bush”, Dr. Kennedy discusses some of the reasons for the NPP losing the 2008 elections.

Excerpts of the book are reproduced below;

While it may be impolitic to say so, there are good policies that do not make good politics at particular times. It is reported that in early 1933, a distinguished group of economists made some recommendations to President Roosevelt. After listening to what they had to say, the President said "You guys know more about economics than I will ever know but I know more about politics than you will ever know. What you are recommending may be sound economics but it is not sound politics. Therefore, I will not do it." 

We failed to reduce adequately and in a timely manner the price of fuel which would have helped many Ghanaians. Also in this category was the failure to deal with the controversy surrounding pre-mix fuel in the fishing communities along our coast. In Kumasi and Accra, city" officials expelled traders from market-stalls and streets malls without any alternative arrangements in place and thus cost us crucial support amongst these groups. Also alienated were commercial drivers who were given draconian fines for trivial offenses.

On the other hand, the construction of the Jubilee House and the purchase of Presidential jets in an election year portrayed the NPP and the Kufuor administration as pre-occupied with priorities not important to ordinary people. 

This gave credence to opposition charges that the NPP was an uncaring government. 

Then we compounded it all by forcing eight of our best Ministers to resign because they were running for President and then sacking our National Security Co-ordinator/Minster, Francis Poku in an election year! Many believed that the Security problems we had in the period leading to and during the elections would have been better handled by a team led by Francis Poku. This is not to criticize Dr. Amo Ghartey. 

He is an excellent professional but many feel he needed a bit of time in the saddle before facing the challenges of election-year. 

Of our government's failures, perhaps the most significant were the failure to provide adequate security, to our own polling station agents in the Volta Region and elsewhere and by implication, the Electoral Commission.

PARTY LAPSES

Third, our parry, despite its glorious past, was a pale shadow of itself. It lacked, on the ground, the vital structures thar in the past had brought us victory. Polling station executives had ceased to function; constituency executives were more interested in chasing money than chasing votes and campaign had been reduced, for most people into celebrity events in which one went to be seen rather than to campaign for votes. The end result was that while the NDC were going door- to-door, we were deriding them instead of going person-to-person ourselves. 

Fourth, our campaign made too many mistakes.

People spent too much time putting one another down instead of working to defeat the NDC. 

People with critical information were excluded or not consulted about things where their knowledge was crucial to success. Examples of these have been given in the course of this book. 

There was too much emphasis on the candidate with the result that all of us wanted to follow him regardless of where we were truly needed. The result was that our candidate was overworked while others just looked on. While the NDC had three teams in the field, despite
having enough talent to field six, we had one for most of the campaign and finally two for the last month or so. 

We did not use our candidate's time well. Due to poor planning, our candidate spent too much time in certain regions where not much could be gained and too little time in places where his presence could have made a difference. For example, if the NPP candidate had spent more time in the eastern region or Greater Accra instead of the Volta Region, it would have made a decisive difference. In Eastern region, the candidate's home region, he underperformed President Kufuor by a whopping 64 thousand votes in the December 7'h poll.

In communication, the NDC made propaganda a key part of their campaign while we talked, but never committed the necessary resources to counter their propaganda. Week after week, we agreed to commit more resources but did not.

USING PRESIDENT KUFUOR

This point has already been made but it bears emphasizing. As late as September of 2008, President Kufuor was more popular than either candidate running and yet, he did not get involved in the public phase of the campaign. There is no doubt that having the President on the campaign trail from September onwards in Central, Ashanti, Brong- Ahafo and Western Region would have made a significant difference.

This was rather reminiscent of the 2000 US elections when the failure to get President Clinton involved had cost Democratic candidate AI Gore Arkansas and with that the Presidency.

RELATIONSHIP WITH SMALLER PARTIES

Also, our failure to nurture our relationship with the smaller parties over the last eight years also came to bear in that over the preceding eight years, these parties had moved, almost imperceptibly, from being our natural allies to being our natural opponents. Therefore, most of them, with the exception of the DFP, worked to help the NDC.

SUPPORT OF CORE CONSTITUENCIES

We lost the support of teachers and security personnel.

While their numbers in electoral terms are not significant, these two groups are crucial to electoral success. Most of the Electoral Commissions temporary Election workers are teachers and as we approached the elections, a lot of teachers were unhappy with arrears and being made to forfeit pay for going on strike. As one teacher who was an election official remarked afterwards, "we taught the NPP a lesson". In the NDC strategic document prepared in 2006, they made reaching out to security forces a key task. There is speculation that the reluctance of security forces to secure the vote in the Volta region and to secure the environment in Tain for a fair vote may have reflected the NDC's success in wooing them.

NDC CAMPAIGN

While it is true that the NPP lost this election, the NDC, apart from election-day ways and means, at which they excelled, did other things well too.

They had a clear strategy on how to deploy their big guns and they followed it well.

They had a clear propaganda strategy and they followed it and put resources behind it.

They exploited our government's election-year blunders ruthlessly, and in the process, lied recklessly wherever it served their interests.

PERSONAL MISTAKES

Many have asked whether there are things I would do differently and the answer is yes.

First, I assumed wrongly that given the importance of communications, enough resources and attention would be allocated to it. I was wrong. I should have been more aggressive in fighting for resources and space for my committee. I should have disregarded the campaigns injunctions not to seek outside help for my committee sooner.

Second, I was urged repeatedly to spend more time following the candidate. I was wrong in not heeding that advice. I realized during the second round that in the candidate's travelling entourage, my committee had not had a strong voice in the early parts of the campaign. Having the system we had in the second round, which involved having me on the road with the candidate and with daily conferences with Jake and Oboshie in Accra would have served the campaign very well.  

DANQUAH BETRAYED UGCC

 By Ebow Mensah.

 A “Gold Coast Bulletin” of March 6, 1948 report shows that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, founder of the Republic of Ghana was far more loyal to the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) than J.B. Danquah and the right wing of the Nationalist movement.

 The report says that Danquah and his right wing colleagues denied that they were representatives of the Convention during the 1948 riots.

They falsely claimed that they were representatives of the Ga Natives Authority.

The full report is published below;

-Government Communiqué, 29th February.
This afternoon a number of persons belonging to the United Gold Coast Convention sought through the District Commissioner, Accra, an interview with the Colonial Secretary and the Chief Commissioner of the Colony. They were Dr. J. B. Danquah, Mr. Akufo Addo, Mr. Blay, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, Mr. Quist· Therson , Mr. William Ofori Atta and Mr. V. B. Annan. They stated that they wished to discuss measures to restore control in Accra. The Government's reply was conveyed to them through Mr. Moxon, District Commissioner, Accra, in whose house they had assembled. The reply was as follows:- 

"The Government strongly advises Dr. Danquah, Mr. Akufo Addo , Mr. Blay, Mr. Lamptey, Mr. Quist-Thereson, Mr. William Ofori Atta and Mr. V. B. Annan,  

 
claiming to be a delegation from the United Gold Coast Convention, to lose “no opportunity and to make strong efforts to assist in the full restoration of law and order in Accra. It is their duty, as it is the duty of every other citizen, to give every assistance; and the Government is determined that law and order shall be restored as early as possible and will take all possible and proper steps to that end. Moreover, the Government is determined that all possible steps be taken to assign the responsibility for recent criminal instigation of the people of Accra leading to the present deplorable and disgraceful rioting, and to see that lawful retribution is exacted. 

Government accordingly sees no special reason why they should meet the Colonial Secretary and the Chief Commissioner of the Colony ". 

When this message had been read over to them by the District Commissioner, the members of the "Delegation" denied that they had come as representatives of the United Gold Coast Convention. They claimed that they had made their representations. on behalf of the Ga Native Authority.

 An immediate enquiry disclosed that these persons had been given no authority by the Ga Native Authority to act on it behalf

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND OF ASSEMBLY

Politicians with jaundiced eyes on protecting their private self-interests are verbally re-writing our laws and lampooning the police as stooges, when they attempt to carry out their legitimate functions.

The 1992 Constitution guarantees the right of every Ghanaian to freely speak his or mind on any topic under the sun and to also congregate for lawful purposes.

But our leaders in government and our representatives in Parliament have in their wisdom set boundaries for the exercise of these inalienable freedoms in the form of the Public

Order Act, enforceable by the Police.

The Act requires all organisers of public gatherings to put the Police the primary guarantors of our collective security on notice and receive a written permit from them.

It is. therefore. mischief of the highest order for any politician especially the trained lawyers among them to suggest that any move by the Police to enforce the Act is an attempt to "crtminaltse" freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

There are various avenues for exercising the two freedoms. For instance one could call a press conference in exercise of them. A press conference organizer does not require a police permit.

But if one wants a big public in an open space that could obstruct traffic and lead to a possible breakdown of law and order a police permit is required by law.

The Chronicle wishes to call on our politicians to put aside their faked amnesia and remember that there is no total freedom anywhere "in the world. One may not require a police permit to hold a rally in the United States of America but the security agencies there would move heaven and earth literally to frustrate any known communist who attempts to publicly disseminate what they would view as his "obnoxious and pernicious" doctrines.     "

That is a 200-year democracy while ours is just 20 years old.

There are fundamental interests of the state that must be protected at all times. unless the state wants. unanimously, to self-destruct. These national interests. including public safety and unity. must not be sacrificed on the platform of political expediency,even while seeking to right perceived wrongs.

Kabral Blay Amihere (Media Commission Head)

A Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) is a wonderful opportunity to have a supra national pro-clean elections body that its organiser have let slip through their fingers by aligning it to a partisan cause.

Politicians everywhere are ready to steal votes to attain power if given the slightest opportunity, even if merely through rigging the register, but a non-partisan body is needed.

No matter its current orientation for short-term ends. The Chronicle would urge the organisers of the LMVCA to be law abiding. They should let their methodology expose the Police as mindless, if indeed that is what they are.

The LMVCA's current orientation of flouting laid down procedures and crying foul when reined in makes it difficult for "non-politically aligned" Ghanaians to believe the claims of their politically aligned sympathisers that the state is using the Ghana
Police to obstruct their freedom to free speech and assembly.

The LMVCA organisers should also note that they have a duty to ensure that their platform is used for lawful purposes at all times, for their own peace of mind.

Even if an organiser of a forum is absent on a specific occasion when it was allegedly used for a subversive activity or issue threats, he is not exonerated from responsibility. He is liable for providing the platform.

“They should not be deceived by the lawyers egging them on. They may defend them for- free. But when push comes to shove, they may only accompany them to the prison gate; while they would be locked up inside, the lawyers would return home to their wives and children.

  To be forewarned is to be forearmed.