Political scientist and senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Asah Asante, has cautioned that the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) decision to grant amnesty to suspended members could undermine discipline in the party.
This follows the NPP’s announcement that members who were sanctioned or facing disciplinary action for misconduct would be reinstated in a bid to ensure of unity and reconciliation.
Dr Asante admitted that the move was in line with political strategies aimed at strengthening numbers, but stressed that it could have negative consequences.
“In politics, it is a game of numbers, so you always want to have the numbers at all times to support you, and that is why I’m sure they are doing that. The downside of it is that when people are given such reprieve, there is always the tendency for others to emulate them and also do what others have done, expecting that they will also be given amnesty,” he explained.
To limit potential abuse, the NPP has introduced a two-year ban on reinstated members, barring them from contesting for any party positions within that period. Dr Asante believes that condition is fair.
“I have wronged the party for which reason you needed to be going through a process, and if you are not able to meet their requirements, you are sanctioned. At the end of the day, they said, look we have forgiven you, go and sin no more, and that you will not be able to contest for the next election unless the two-year ban is exhausted. That, for me, is a fair point and it must be respected,” he said.
Meanwhile, political activist, Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, has taken a stance against the amnesty, describing it as hypocritical and insincere.
According to him, the party should be offering apologies rather than amnesty, given its past treatment of some members.
“This amnesty is hypocritical because we are the same party that in 2008 brought somebody who didn’t even have a party membership card and made them running mate. By the way, earlier that year, at least five people who wanted to run as parliamentary candidates had been disqualified because they had not, quote, developed the party enough. So I think that we owe a lot of people apologies, not just amnesties,” he said.
He pointed to figures such as Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyapong, and even grassroots members who suffered for their loyalty, insisting they deserve open apologies.
Read also: NPP must offer apologies, not just amnesty, to Afoko, Agyapong and Ghanaians – Dr Arthur Kennedy
“I think that it is a grudging amnesty calculated to keep people still on the side. If you grant an amnesty to somebody and he is not popular and he wants to go and run for office, let them go and lose. Why do you have to bar them from running for office? That in itself shows that the amnesty is not sincere,” Dr Kennedy added.
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