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General news for Friday, October 16, 2020
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2020-10-16
Professor of Political Science, Prof. Ransford Gyampo
University of Ghana Political Science Professor Ransford Gyampo warned that the precedent of spouses succeeding their deceased husbands / wives as parliamentary candidates and members of parliament has the potential to lead some unscrupulous people to plot murder as a means of being selected for parliament.
Professor Gyampo was evaluating Mfrantseman’s recent selection of the late Member of Parliament’s widow, Ophelia Quansah, as her husband’s replacement to represent the New Patriotic Party in the December 2020 elections, highlighting the perpetuation of such precedence.
“We must also be careful not to perpetuate this precedent. Otherwise, very soon, some unscrupulous people who have marital problems with their spouse may be plotting a murder as a way to get elected to parliament, “he said.
Gyampo broadened the scope of his warning, stating that “we must be aware that the practice of asking widows to replace their deceased husbands in parliament can be dangerous and will soon undermine the quality of representation, especially if the sole force The driving force behind promoting a certain segment of the citizenry to parliament is the loss of their spouse ”.
While highlighting the downside of Madame Ofelia’s nomination, which says, among other things, “amounts to pure political expediency that extols the dogmas of partisan selfishness and ignores the interests of surviving widows and children,” the Professor Gyampo also touched on what might be some of the “politically wise” aspects of the decision, which includes the NPP appealing for sympathy to secure a parliamentary seat in which the party’s occupation is not too secure before the December elections.
“It also sacrifices our customary culture and protocols for political expediency. Widows and family members who go through this experience are denied the right to mourn their loved ones just because a group of people needs a certain parliamentary seat at all costs ”, he stated in part of his assessment.
He called on political parties, as part of their quest for political power, to ensure that the nation is not brought into “a regime of sacrificing timeless principles, institutions, rules, customs and traditions for political convenience.”
Member of Parliament for Mfantseman, Ekow Hayford Quansah, was killed last week by suspected robbers. After his death, the New Patriotic Party, citing the popular support of the voters, has decided on the wife of the deceased as his replacement for the next elections.
Read Professor Gyampo’s full assessment of Ms Ophelia Quansah’s nomination below
1. Political parties and pressure groups have the same functions in any democratic regime. But they have a fundamental difference. While a Pressure Group seeks to influence government policies and actions in a manner favorable to its members, Political Parties, in the strictest sense, are formed to capture political power.
2. In their quest to capture political power, in transitional democracies, they resort to various appropriate and inappropriate forms and means, including genuine problem-based campaigns, emotional overtures, propaganda, and other efforts to attract compassion and sympathy from voters.
3. As president of the Saltpond Forum, an association of some Saltpond citizens with members of Saltpond and other Mfantseman cities, I submitted a proposal to create a platform for an ideas competition between the late Kow Kwansah Hayford and other aspiring MPs at the Mfantseman constituency in 2016. This was accepted and therefore we organized some kind of Town Hall meeting, where the applicants debated amongst themselves. After the debate, it became clear that the contest was between the NPP and the NDC Aspirant. However, what was not clear was who was likely to win the 2020 parliamentary elections.
4. After the election, it was not surprising that the NPP’s Hayford won, but with a not very significant voting margin. It should be noted that the Mfantseman seat, while swinging, has favored the NDC by 80 percent more than the NPP since 1992. In fact, from 1992 to date, the PNP has only served “two terms one” in the constituency, that is, Asamoah Boateng’s single term from 2004-2008 and Hayford’s term from 2016-2020. The rest of the years were enjoyed by the NDC and, in my own prediction, based on voting trends in the constituency, 2020 was going to be an election for the NDC, at least for the parliamentary race.
5. In such a situation, where the occupation of a parliamentary seat by a ruling party is not too assured; And where the incumbent deputy of the ruling party has allegedly been assassinated, what “politically wise” thing would any serious political party interested in seizing political power do? By all means, they will appeal to sympathy, and it would be a fundamental misunderstanding of how political parties operate in fledgling democracies, to blame the PNP for imposing on the mourning widow as a replacement for the MP, and to criticize the funeral rites of the MP one week to the 2020 parliamentary elections. This is not the first time and we may have to put up with the practice for a while, as political parties grow and democracy develops.
6. But just as every coin has two sides, the practice has its drawbacks. It amounts to pure political expediency that extols the dogmas of partisan selfishness and disregards the interest of surviving widows and children. It also sacrifices our customary culture and protocols for political expediency. Widows and family members who go through that experience are denied the rite of mourning for their loved ones, just because a group of people needs a certain parliamentary seat at all costs.
7. The widow is forced to sacrifice her job as a police officer, for a position that is not similar to Ketu-South, which she can easily win in 2020 due to sympathy, but she cannot be guaranteed victory beyond victory. Will the party take care of her and the children, when she loses her seat and no longer has a job in the Police Service?
8. We must also be careful not to perpetuate this precedence. Otherwise, very soon, some unscrupulous people who have marital problems with their spouse, may be planning the murder as a way to get elected to parliament.
9. Finally, we must know that the practice of asking widows to replace their deceased husbands in parliament can be dangerous and will soon undermine the quality of representation, especially if the only driving force to push a certain segment of the citizenship to parliament is the loss of your spouse.
10. I conclude by calling on Ghana’s political parties to commit to their ultimate goal of seizing political power. But as we develop our democracy, the pursuit of political power should not lead us to a regime of sacrifice of timeless principles, institutions, rules, customs, and traditions for political convenience.
Yaw gyampo
A31, Prabiw
PAV Ansah Street
Saltpond
Y
Suro Nipa House
Kasease
Larteh- Akuapim
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