Professor of Finance and Economics at the University of Ghana, Professor Godfred A. Bokpin, has advised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to take a critical look at its current internal election strategy as it prepares to choose a flagbearer for the 2028 general election.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, on Saturday, June 21, Prof. Bokpin expressed concern about the party’s decision to elect a flagbearer before completing elections for other leadership positions at the lower levels of the party.
He believes this approach could affect the unity and strength of the party ahead of the next polls.
“The little I know about Ghana’s politics is that, when it comes to democratic principles, we look to the NPP and how they’ve done it over the years in terms of building the party,” he said.
“A strong party with its structures is most likely to deliver a strong leader that can take them to the next elections.”
He added that the traditional process involves electing polling station, constituency, and regional executives first, before choosing a presidential candidate. However, the NPP appears to be reversing this order, and that, he said, may not serve the party’s best interests.
“I have not followed it closely, but it looks to me that they want to do it the other way round. They now want to elect the flagbearer before they go through the process of electing the other leaders at the lower level,” he noted.
“I am not too sure this will work for the party… whether the current leadership from national to regional to polling station level actually resonate with the grassroots so that we can rely on those ones to choose the flagbearer for us.”
Prof. Bokpin cautioned that while the party’s constitution may allow it to proceed in this order, it should reflect on the broader implications.
“You may use the law to justify this path, but anytime you want to use the law purely to solve every problem, you may miss out on so many things,” he said.
“Your constitution may allow you to do this, but I think you should reflect broadly to ensure that whoever is elected is actually popular within the party, and the party structures can work with the person.”
He also raised concerns about possible internal motives for fast-tracking the flagbearer race. “There is a certain suspicion, I could be wrong, that perhaps this may be done to work to the advantage of a candidate whose popularity may decline if the process takes longer.”
In his view, such a move could affect internal harmony if not managed carefully. “The party should be careful because at the end of the day, you will need the entire party working well in a coordinated manner.”
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