Political scientist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Kwasi Amakye Boateng, has revealed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) finds itself in a quandary.

According to him, the recent happenings within the party which has led the leadership yet to decide when to hold internal elections is worrying. He indicated that the party has come into some sort of conflict of interest which is so high and has led to its indecisive stance.

Dr Boateng stated that everybody within the party is “pulling their weight” and it’s evident they’re not very clear as to whether the party in government will be able to achieve something remarkable economically before 2024.

“The NPP finds itself in a quandary currently. They have a challenge because of the economic performance currently, Nana Addo’s economic performance and legacy that he will be bequeathing to Ghanaians and the party’s overall interest, the desire to remain in power, and the immediate issue of competing interest in the party, who is going to lead the party going forward.”
Dr Kwasi Amakye Boateng

Dr Boateng indicated that considering the current economic climate, it appears that a decision to go forward and produce a flagbearer will take the shine and focus off the presidency. However, describing it as “interesting”, he noted that that position is “unnecessarily unfounded” because if the presidency or government was busy with the agenda that is being implemented, which can affect the lives of Ghanaians, the country’s politics will focus on that.

“At the end of the day, politics works closely with economics. After elections, you’ve got management and it is all about bread and butter (economic issues). So, if the fear that an aerial decision will not be conducive for the presidency is also to me, an indication that the presidency is not very sure that it has any significant programme to implement going forward and so people will therefore follow the political campaign and electoral issues with the hope of getting something out.”
Dr Kwasi Amakye Boateng

Questioning whether the NPP has a better alternative within the party to spearhead and do better given the current economic conditions, Dr Boateng explained that should that happen, then Ghanaians will follow the political activity leading to internal elections.

“But if the government were to be implementing some significant programmes and something that really Ghanaians see affect them so much, then that is it. So, generally, competing interests is manifesting in the party and to me they have produced the outcome we have; the party’s inability to take a critical decision as to electing their flagbearers now or delaying it.”
Dr Kwasi Amakye Boateng

Impact of competing interest within the party

Commenting on the impact competing interests within the party will have on the party’s chances of breaking the eight, Dr Boateng highlighted that any casual observer of the current political development in the country will not hesitate to come to the conclusion that NPP is waiting to go wrong. Justifying his stance, he underscored that the “terrible mess, economic mess and huge amount of money” at the disposal of government has not yielded any desired results.

“… The aspirants are not really feeling so easy simply because they know of the challenge ahead of them and they wish they could go out there and hit the ground running. So, in a way yes, it’s hurting the party. Either way, the inability to take a decisive action comes to a position where they say this is the way forward.”
Dr Kwasi Amakye Boateng

Dr Boateng emphasized that the delay in carrying out the party’s internal elections doesn’t augur well for the party, especially if it reckons that government might get some respite if they delay it.

“They won’t because what they do in government now, governance is not seen as inuring to economic interest of Ghanaians, then it will be adding to their woes. I think they should allow the flagbearership taken so the government will do what it has to do to keep politics going.”
Dr Kwasi Amakye Boateng

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is set to engage in broader consultations before the date is fixed for primaries and parliamentary elections following a deadlock National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Thursday, February 2, 2023.

The first NEC meeting to deliberate and decide a date for its Presidential and Parliamentary primaries ended in a stalemate.