In the aftermath of the recently concluded New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary primaries, concerns have been raised about the growing influence of money in the political landscape, with fears that it could set a dangerous trend for the nation’s democracy.
Dr. Rasheed Draman, the Executive Director of the African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) has expressed his apprehension over the significant role that money played in the elections, leading to the defeat of several incumbents, including some prominent figures in Parliament.
Reacting to the phenomena after Saturday’s January 27 primaries in a media interview, Dr. Draman argued that some incumbent Members of Parliament may have voluntarily exited due to a combination of fatigue and the anticipation of intense competition, potentially driven by the rising influence of financial resources that are often associated with the parliamentary primaries of the ruling party.
“When we had the list, which included people like Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and others a few weeks ago, some of us thought that while a number of them must have been tired and wanted to move on and do different things, perhaps towards the end of their lives, a number of them were pushed because perhaps they foresaw the competition that was coming, the role of money in particular”
Dr Rasheed Draman
The Executive Director of the African Center for Parliamentary Affairs further expressed concern that this trend could compromise the stability of the democratic process.
He questioned the motivations behind the decisions of some incumbents to step aside, suggesting that the influence of money may have played a pivotal role in their choices.
Furthermore, Dr. Rasheed Draman emphasized the need for stakeholders to adopt the necessary interventions to prevent a scenario where every election cycle results in a complete turnover of Parliament due to the excessive monetization of parliamentary primaries in the country.
“Unfortunately, this is certainly setting a dangerous trend for our democracy, and I don’t know how we got here. But if this is not stopped, we will wake up someday and with every election cycle we are going to have, we will get a completely new Parliament”.
Dr Rasheed Draman
Political Analyst Lauds NPP’s Approach Of Not Protecting Incumbent MPs
Meanwhile, Political analyst and pollster, Ben Ephson has asserted that the New Patriotic Party’s decision to not protect any incumbent Member of Parliament in its recently held primaries reflects a conscious effort by the party to address the discontent observed in the previous elections.
In a candid assessment of the party’s approach, Mr Ephson highlighted the party’s shift in tactics compared to the 2020 elections and stated that in the previous election cycle, the ruling party had attempted to preserve some experienced and incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) by disqualifying certain candidates before the polls, however, the move seemingly backfired, contributing to a noticeable dissatisfaction among the party’s supporters.
“If you analyze the parliamentary and the presidential elections you could see that there was anger in the supporters. The votes President Akufo-Addo got as a presidential candidate were far less than the votes of the parliamentary candidates. Which tells you that the supporters registered their displeasure by not voting for the candidate”.
Ben Ephson
Mr Ben Ephson’s analysis pointed to a disconnect between the party’s leadership choices and the preferences of its grassroots supporters in the 2020 elections.
According to him, the party, having learned from such a dynamic, has now opted for a more inclusive strategy in the recently concluded Parliamentary primaries, allowing a wider pool of candidates to contest.
The NPP Parliamentary primaries held on Saturday, January 27 2024 saw a notable shift in the political landscape, with about twenty-eight Members of Parliament losing their seats.
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