NPP needs peace
Ghana took a firm step in 1992 when she promulgated the 1992 Constitution and lifted the ban on multi-party democracy. We have since gone great lengths to master the practice of a functional multi-party democratic dispensation.
Ghana has 23 registered political parties, a pointer to the high interest Ghanaians have in party political activities. Despite the rather high number of registered political parties, very few of them can be said to be active and playing their roles in ensuring that the wheel of good governance is kept in motion to better the lot of Ghanaians.
Most disheartening and worrying is the fact that out of these few functional political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have dominated and are monopolising the political space and discourse.
For the country to nurture and grow multi-party practice requires all the political parties and actors to fully play their part.
As a nation, our achievements in the practice of multi-party democracy, which has been the envy of many of our African compatriots, can therefore be attributed to the NDC and the NPP, to a large extent. That is why any Ghanaian worth his salt will always wish that these two parties are run in a manner that will give more shine to our democracy.
It will be more depressing for the country if one of the two main parties starts showing signs that all is not well within their ranks and that there is lack of trust and intolerance, which can lead to its disintegration.
It is in this vein that the Daily Graphic sees what is happening within the NPP as most troubling because it is the biggest opposition party. More so, the party prides itself as a body with high credentials in the rule of law and due process.
The chaotic scene at the NPP headquarters last Tuesday, therefore, cannot be allowed to pass without comment, since it could have been avoided.
The happenings do not bode well for the party, considering the fact that it is preparing to hold a delegates conference on October 18, this year, to elect its flag bearer, who will rely on the support of the entire members of the party in his bid to effectively contest the 2016 presidential election.
It therefore behoves the current national executive under Paul Afoko and the entire leadership of the party to take steps to bring order, peace, harmony and unity into the party’s activities. Without peace and unity, there is very little any party can do to convince the electorate that it is ready and prepared to manage the affairs of state if Ghanaians hand the reins of government to it.
What the NPP should not forget is that a house divided against itself cannot stand; and that is why all Ghanaians, not just the NPP, expect the party to put its house in order.
This is the only way the nation can maximise the benefits and reap the dividends of democracy, which the country embarked upon in 1992.
