Join The Queue - A principle of democracy or autocracy?

I could not disagree with the president during his address to the NPP party executives two weeks ago, cautioning them to be weary of some of those contending for the party’s presidential nomination.

His unhappiness and warning to those seeking to win favour by pulling others down by badmouthing them and the government is genuine and proper. Many Ghanaians will agree with the president that candidates should desist from irresponsible and immature behaviour during their campaign.

However, I strongly disagree with the president on his alleged remarks that “some of the contestants are trying to upset the party’s tradition by jumping the queue and that they would be better advised to bid their time for their turn.” Serving term and rendering selfless sacrifice to a particular party should not be a huge factor in determining who deserves a leadership. No political party exists for itself or for the benefit of its members. Political parties are social and public institutions seeking to lead the people by providing good governance.

In choosing a person to lead a party, the goal of that party should be to look for a person who can provide the leadership that will bring peace and prosperity to the people. Unfortunately, the qualities required to provide such leadership are not necessarily owned by long-serving party members. And therefore, all democratic institutions should be open enough to treat their members alike, regardless of their years of service. Long-serving members may be good and devoted members of the party; however, they may not posses the qualities required to be a leader.

Putting president Kuffour’s remarks in perspective, one can make lots of arguments – (1) why should the parties waste money to organize conventions when it can simply look at its members and choose the longest-served member and make him or her automatic leader? (2) during a national election, why don’t we simply look at the party that has been in the opposition for the longest and make them the government instead of going through the process of election? We don’t do any of those because 1, we want the best candidate and the best government, 2, we want to give the people the power to decide and to choose freely in the name of democracy. We cannot advance democracy by our words but by deeds.

While the president did not name any candidate in particular, his remarks can be seen as an automatic endorsement of a particular candidate. Just last week, the Liberal Party of Canada ended their leadership convention. Interestingly and contrary to the views of president Kuffour, Mr. Bob Rae who led the New Democratic Party to defeat the provincial Liberals in the 1991 election had just become a Liberal and was running for the party’s top job. Mr. Rae, until that time had never served as a Liberal, yet his new membership as a Liberal was never used against him anywhere in the campaign. In fact, he maintained a second position throughout the campaign and through the first and second ballots. Honorable Jean Charest, the current Liberal premier of Quebec was once a Conservative Party cabinet minister who stepped down to win the Liberal Party leadership and the premiership. The above are true examples of mature politics and display of democracy.

If Ghana is to become a true democratic nation, then our leaders must learn to embrace democratic principle. We must look forward to the opportunities that the future brings and leave the past and unnecessary traditions behind. Our leaders should not just look at the interest of their parties but the total interest of the nation. Remember, in choosing a leader for any of our political parties, we are choosing a potential president for the nation, therefore, we must look beyond the party and think of who will be the best leader for the people of Ghana.

By all means, president Kuffour has the right to his opinion and the right to support one candidate or another, however, as the president, his alleged remarks at this stage of the game were improper, democratically unacceptable and politically wrong. I believe that the party and the country will be better served if the president stays neutral during this election process.

Opoku-Agyemang, Gus (Bolton)

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.