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I have read the interesting opinion piece on the above topic posted on myjoyonline.com dated 01.01.2021 written by EG Buckman. The article sought to present some of the issues that the PNP must consider in the election of its next presidential candidate. It contains some positive points that the party can consider in the post-election analysis to inform our preparations for the next elections. However, the article also contains some flawed, unsubstantiated, old-fashioned and potentially dangerous arguments that party members and their delegates cannot afford to participate in 21st century Ghana.
From the looks of it, the author simply seeks to discredit Dr. Bawumia and reduce his chances of gaining the support of party delegates to lead him to the 2024 elections. For example, it is false to describe Dr. Bawumia as one of many good party people. Without an iota of doubt, many political analysts simply will not agree with this statement. I strongly believe that people looking to compete with Dr. Bawumia for party leadership will agree that Dr. Bawumia is one of the exceptionally few candidates who should be given the opportunity to lead the party at this time. crucial, among other things for its Exceptionally good qualities.
With the exception of the president and past presidents, it is almost safe to argue that Dr. Bawumia is the most proven and easiest candidate to market in Ghana than any other potential PNP candidate today. It is clear that Dr. Bawumia has strengthened the fortunes of the nuclear power plant nationwide. Its appeal transcends religion. Dr. Bawumia’s call for leadership is not based on the fact that NDC pushes the PNP to confront a non-Akan; it is the moment that has just arrived and its peculiarities call it. He has shown leadership; it appeals to a higher proportion of floating voters and was established prominently both in its base regions and in the NPP strongholds. That said, the main objective of this article is not to sell Dr. Bawumia, but to correct the author’s erroneous argument that a Muslim from the north should not have the opportunity to lead the party as a standard-bearer.
The claim that Christians will not vote for Dr. Bawumia because he is Muslim is problematic and is based on the author’s personal opinions and perceptions. At best, these arguments are unfounded and unsupported by evidence. This is a very divisive issue and I completely disagree with the author on this. Yes, there may be some people who will vote for purely religious reasons, but the question is what proportion of the electorate would do this at the expense of good policies and good governance of the country? In fact, the PNP has never presented a Muslim presidential candidate and no major political party has done so in the 4th republic, so where did the author get that argument from?
However, the author has made no attempt to discuss the potential impact of a sector of Ghanaian perception that the PNP is an Akan party, on the fate of the party in 2024, should another Akan be elected. to lead the party. The geographic / ethnic origin of the PNP presidential candidate appears to be a more powerful issue in the eyes of our political opponents than religion. A good example of this can be read in Haruna Attah’s article that was published by Class FM during the 2016 election campaign.
In that article, then-President John Mahama allegedly made the comment on his campaign platform that the PNP only “uses the Northerners” to gain power and then “throws them away.” It is therefore surprising that the author conveniently chose to ignore and dismiss this problem when he knows very well how the NDC has unfortunately capitalized on it, covertly or not. Also, EG Buckman in his presentation, mentioned a winning formula, namely Christian presidential candidate from the South and Muslim vice presidential candidate from the North, and tried to describe it as “almost worked perfectly over the years.” If that is the case, then why did the PNP lose the 2008 and 2012 elections with the winning formula? This so-called “winning formula”, as the author describes it, openly demands the perpetuation of a background state for Muslims and Northerners in the party and must be condemned by all. It is essential to note that the political landscape is not static and that local political dynamics change over time. Consequently, yesterday’s winning formula may not necessarily be effective today.
I strongly urge the author and those with the unsubstantiated opinion that Christians will not vote for a Muslim candidate from the north to broaden their horizon and transcend their personal views. They must strive and learn from other countries in the world. For example, in the United States, where blacks are a minority, Barack Obama won the presidency over John McCain in the 2008 elections; and where Protestant Christians are in the majority, a Catholic won the 2020 presidential election. In the United Kingdom, the current mayor of London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is Muslim and was elected in 2016. There are also similar examples in the countries of the United Kingdom. Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, Rwanda has a minority Tutsi president, Paul Kagame, but the Hutus are the overwhelming majority ethnic group in that country.
In Nigeria, both Muslim and Christian candidates gain power when right-wing political parties present and market them accordingly. Even in Ghana, most people vote for parties and personality, not for religious reasons. To suggest that in a country with a predominantly Christian population the electorates would always vote for religious reasons is in itself ridiculous. In the recently concluded presidential elections, Christian Kwabena Andrews of the GUM party was not only a Christian but also a priest. He obtained only 0.42% of the national vote. If religion were a primary factor for voters, it would have obtained a significant number of votes according to Buckman’s reasoning; that did not happen. These examples suggest that religion doesn’t really matter if the candidate is accepted and well presented by the unified party machine. To that end, this question of religion raised by the author is inconsequential and party members and delegates should not allow themselves to divide on religious grounds. Trying to bring religion into Ghanaian politics in this way is very dangerous for the advancement of our homeland.
Let me also take this opportunity to remind PNP supporters and supporters that we are a party with a common goal: to hold power and lead the development of our country for the betterment of the people of Ghana. Like most political parties in Ghana, NPP is comprised of Ghanaians of different socio-cultural backgrounds, including ethnic and religious beliefs, and every effort should be made to avoid dividing ourselves along ethnic / cultural or religious lines. When screening our candidates, we must focus on the issues and be guided by objectivity and, whenever possible, use strong scientific evidence to support our arguments. We must present and highlight the strengths of the candidates we support and avoid making sweeping generalizations and trying to discredit our internal opponents. Not doing this is simply arming our opponents with bullets to use against us in 2024 and beyond.
The two main political parties in Ghana have their strongholds. For example, the Ashanti region for the nuclear power plant and the Volta region for the NDC. This phenomenon is common not only in Ghana but also in other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. For example, in the United States, some states are predominantly Democratic, while others are predominantly Republican. Also, in the UK, the northern part of the country is predominantly pro-worker, while the southern parts are predominantly pro-conservative. There is no evidence to suggest that these regional party loyalties change based solely on the origin of the party’s presidential candidate (or leader). By extension, there is no evidence to suggest that a candidate selected from the north or elsewhere in Ghana will not win the support of voters in the NPP strongholds.
For example, the Volta region has consistently and sincerely supported the NDC, regardless of the origin of the presidential candidate. Similarly, in my opinion, the Ashanti region is NPP and NPP is the Ashanti region and will possibly remain so for generations. With this in mind, the choice of a candidate to lead the party should be based on his caliber and personal qualities, including his experience and track record, as well as his ability to attract floating voters, achieve significant electoral breakthroughs in some of the other “not so loyalists ”or changing geographic regions and unite any perceived faction / group within the party, without relying on unfounded religious intolerance.
As I mentioned earlier, bringing religion into the political discourse of the country is divisive and very dangerous. It will play the game of our political opponents and, sadly, the fascist groups. As a nation, we don’t want to go down that path. Ghana has enjoyed a peaceful coexistence between the three main religions of our society and we should do everything possible to preserve this peaceful God-given atmosphere for the benefit of our homeland, Ghana. As agents and ambassadors of our political party, our ultimate goal is to ensure peace and development, and the message we preach has the potential to influence some sectors of the population. It is up to political activists to preach the message of peace and unity in our society, not to promote division by our parish interests.
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The writer is a member of the Nasara group of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the UK.
