By Christopher Arko
Accra, Dec. 20, GNA – Dr Alidu Seidu, a political scientist, says the election of the new national executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is timely and crucial to the party’s electoral fortunes.
“They are the best to be elected by the party as they attempt to wrestle power from New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2024,” he told the Ghana News Agency in an. Interview in Accra.
According to the Senior Political Lecturer at the University of Ghana, both Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, new NDC Chairman and Mr Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, the General Secretary, have the experience of prosecuting national elections and it showed in their own individual campaigns as former Members Parliament (MP) as well having indept knowledge in government business after handling various ministerial portfolios.
Mr Asiedu Nketia, popularly known as General Mosquito won the chairmanship race with an overwhelming margin over his main challenger Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the incumbent.
Whiles in the race for the General Secretary position, Mr Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, former MP for Ketu South also won a landslide victory over the other two contenders at the National Delegates conference.
Dr Seidu also explained that strangely the current political challenges and circumstances of the country were similar in 2008 when the NDC was able to prosecute its campaign to defeat the NPP government at the time.
Drawing parrallels, he said at the 6th National Delegates Congress of the NDC at Koforidua that elected the executives to prosecute the 2008 campaign, the incumbent Chairman Dr Obed Asamoah, was defeated by Dr Kwabena Adjei, and Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia was elected the General Secretary whilst Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and Mr Fiifi Kwetey were elected National Organiser and Propaganda Secretary respectively.
He said curiously enough, the NDC was having a repeat performance of same crop of political actors ; “Mr Asiedu Nketia is the Chairman of the NDC, Fiifi Kwetey, the General Secretary, holding two important positions within the party and have had the experience of national elections, prosecute their own individual campaigns as former Members Parliament (MP) and serving in government at various levels.”
Dr Seidu also described the new National Executive of the NDC as well balanced with a lot of experience to prosecute national elections.
He explained that the new executives had regional balance, generational balance as well as experience to be prosecute the party’s 2024 elections.
“If you look at the new executives it has a regional balance, you could see people coming from the Northern, Savanah, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Bono, Volta among others. You could also see generational balance; the young generation being elected to join the older generation that has been there to even prosecute 2024 elections” he said.
Dr Seidu said the forthcoming 2024 elections actually influenced the NDC delegates to vote the way they did because they were coming from the grassroot of the party and understood the sentiments of party members.
He said contrary to the general perception in Ghana that people should fear delegates, and that delegates are only interested in money, ” I still believe that the delegates represent the feelings of the rank and file of the party.”
“ I still think delegates still represent generally the totality of the Ghanaian population. They come from near and far, from different communities and understand how people in their communities feel about a specific issue and person at a point in time”.
“So when they congregate, the decisions that they take collectively symbolise the feelings of the people they represent, ” he added.
GNA