Kwabena Abankwa-Yeboah is a former National Treasurer of the New Patriotic Party
As the New Patriotic Party undertakes its National Delegates Conference on Saturday 19th July at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium in Accra, I, like many well- meaning and genuine members and followers of this great tradition, am filled with great expectations and great concern.
Today, the New Patriotic Party finds itself at a most challenging and at same time exciting phase in our enviable political history. Even before we fully recover from the shocking and traumatic defeat of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, in recent times, we have had to grapple with enormous internal disagreements, heated debates as well as unfortunate and needless skirmishes which placed severe strain on the very fabric of our unity.
That we have managed to navigate these turbulent currents and emerged in one piece so far, is a testament to the Almighty God’s Abundant Grace upon us and the resilience of the NPP in the face of adversity.
After any electoral defeat, every political party must, in all honesty, confront its weaknesses, reassess its values and strategies and where necessary reform its structures and internal processes to make them more responsive and relevant to prevailing realities as a crucial step towards regaining public confidence and rebuilding trust within the party. This process of self-introspection is essential for any credible recovery.
Tasking a committee to investigate the reasons behind the party’s disappointing performance in 2024 was definitely a good call. However, the party’s decision not to release the findings and recommendations of the Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye committee while it can be justified on administrative grounds, in my humble opinion should have also taken into consideration the broader strategic need to project inclusivity, transparency and collective healing.
The committee’s report could have been strategically presented in two versions-
1. A detailed internal report meant only for restricted number of key decision makers,
2. A summarized and edited version prepared for party stakeholders.
Such an approach would have achieved leadership’s objective of protecting sensitive information from leaking into the public domain and at the same time satisfied the partywide expectation for transparency and accountability. It would have also deepened engagement and formed a concrete basis for effective suggestions for constitutional amendments.
However, we should not be dismayed but rather learn lessons to do better next time.
The main agenda for this conference is the consideration of amendments proposed by the Constitutional Review Committee, which seem to be quite voluminous. It is for good reason that our constitution mandates that copies must be circulated by the General Secretary to all Regional and Constituency branches for delegates to have a fair grasp of the issues at stake, and in most instances confer with their constituents for a broader appreciation of concerns well before the determination by vote. This is very critical because proposals for amendments are not made just for the interest of a few but to be executed and acted upon by the generality of the party structure whose understanding and buy-in is essential for smooth operation and implementation.
So, for some stakeholders from certain constituencies to claim not to have received their copies some few days before commencement of the conference is cause for concern. Particularly so on this occasion where some of the proposed recommendations for amendments such as the top-bottom approach, the creation of autonomous secretariats for the wings, etc, are completely new and unfamiliar and will require a fair amount of careful deliberation to grasp.
In our current circumstances, I am fully convinced that the sort of amendments we need should aim at improving broader participation of our party faithful to deepen inclusivity, enhance transparency and accountability. We need comprehensive electoral reforms to strengthen and fortify the internal structures and deliver accountable primaries at all levels, to ensure a more impressive performance in both parliamentary and presidential elections going forward.
In the matter of Electoral College Expansion there is the talk of including previous past executives, MMDCEs, as well as former MPs and at the base increasingly the number of Polling Station Executives by two. It is my view that this does not go far enough to address the perception of suspected bias and monetary influence.
Ideally, the best would have been for all registered party members in good standing to be part of the Electoral College. However, if this is not feasible due to financial implications, increasing the number of Polling Station Executives from the 5 to 10 or even 20 as has been suggested by some party members could significantly reduce bias.
With Presidential and Parliamentary Primaries, these should be held two and half years before the intended National Elections and held together on the same day in the case of orphan constituencies. That of sitting members of parliament should be held one and half years to the National elections. This would ensure the party has enough time to reconcile and heal differences after primaries before the National elections.
This National Delegates Conference is a crucial step in our reorganization effort. But it is only a first step in a long journey towards recovery which will require several other steps. Unity is one such important step. So is mutual forgiveness. We must embrace a fresh start with a fresh outlook where past resentments and anger at fellow party faithful who have done wrong against us are forgiven. We must learn to let bygones be bygones.
Only then can we attain genuine reconciliation and solidarity which is necessary to mobilize the base, ignite hope and work together to lay the foundations for a stronger, more united NPP, prepared and determined to forge ahead for victory 2028.
In conclusion, I congratulate Party Leadership, National Council and all the hardworking members of the Planning Committee who have toiled tirelessly to make this conference possible.
I also wish for God’s Protection and Travelling Mercies for all delegates travelling from all over the country to attend this conference. May we have fruitful, purposeful and constructive deliberations. And may the choices and decisions we make reflect the superior interest of our great party and our Beloved country Ghana.
Long live the New Patriotic Party
Long live Ghana
Kwabena Abankwa-Yeboah
Immediate Past National Treasurer-NPP
