NPP’s orphan constituencies election: My Key takeaways

The New Patriotic Party crossed the penultimate hurdle in its re-organization effort for the 2024 parliamentary election over the weekend.

This election concerned contests in what the NPP calls orphan constituencies. That is, constituencies where the party does not have sitting MPs. Based on how the events transpired in over 100 constituencies, here are my takeaways.

Continuous Nurturing a Constituency Matters

The NPP lost 41 of these orphan constituencies in the 2020 election. In some constituencies like Ablekuma Central, the margin was as close as 204 but, in a country, whose electoral laws adopt the first past the post system in parliamentary elections, people have entered parliament with a margin of just three votes.

The point is, for the NPP MPs who lost the 2020 election, many of them saw the just ended primary as a means to redeem themselves. For those who were bold to put their names forward again, the election was a verdict on how they had nurtured their constituencies in the period for which they have been outside Parliament.

For persons like Dr Okoe Boye in Ledzokuku, his efforts at staying in touch with constituents bore fruit with the massive endorsement of votes he got in the election. He went back to his routine medical consultations as a Doctor at the LEKMA Hospital just days after he lost the election in 2020. This tells you about a candidate who was planning his next move and keeping close to constituents right after losing a major election.

Another example is Former Deputy Attorney-General, Joseph Kpemka. He lost one of the only seats the NPP held in the Upper East in Tempane. As a practising lawyer, not only did he set up practice in Accra, he also maintained an office in Upper East as a means of keeping in touch with his base.

On Saturday, he copped a victory to show evidence of almost three years of nurturing his constituency with the hope of capturing back the seat he lost.

Same can be said of Matthew Nyindam who stayed put within the precincts of Kpandai and following Saturday’s victory, he will have an opportunity to try one more time for a seat he occupied for 8 years.

For other MPs, seeking to make a comeback, the results reveal that they either failed to gauge the loss of their political relevance or they just wanted to test their popularity. The votes garnered by former MPs such Elizabeth Afoley Quaye in Krowor, Fuseini Issah in Okaikoi North, Siaka Stevens in Jaman North and Ebenezer Nartey in Ablekuma Central illustrate this point. They may have to re-assess the trajectory of their political careers.

Will It Ever Stop? The Vote-Buying

Candidates boldly doled out cash to delegates over the weekend in branded envelopes. And they justified their actions too. Many of them said, the money they gave was for T&T or transportation. But we know all too well that GHC1,000 and GHC2,000 in envelopes to delegates after voting is more than transportation fare.

It sure smacks of inducement. Thus, the refrain of ‘monecracy’ continues in our politics. As an antidote, the political parties may consider creating a financial pool during such elections. All candidates will contribute into this pool, out of which delegates will derive their T&T. That way, delegates can vote their conscience without necessarily looking forward to an envelope with cash after casting their ballot from an aspirant. It is refreshing to note that the Special Prosecutor has taken note of some of these acts of vote buying and intends to deal with it. This may be a new chapter in the fight to deal a decisive blow to ‘monecracy’ in Ghana’s politics

The Parliamentary Bandwagon Effect

A number of government functionaries threw their hat into the ring seeking to begin a parliamentary career away from the confines of government appointment.

The results show that there was a successful outcome for the Director of Communications at the Presidency and his Deputy. Eugene Arhin in Awutu Senya West and Jefferson Sackey in Ablekuma Central.

A similar success story is the case at the upper echelons of the National Youth Authority. CEO, Pius Hadzide was successful in his quest to represent Asuogyaman in Parliament by crossing the first hurdle. His Deputy, Akosua Manu also won the primary in Adentan.

Others like Michael Ansah of GIADEC, Ibrahim Adjei of the Jubilee House, Deputy Minister of Tourism Mark Okraku Mantey and Oti Regional Minister, Joshua Makubu were not successful in their bids. The question is, given the demands of running a full blown parliamentary campaign, should these officials not resign from the government positions they hold? Will productivity not suffer as try to look into a bottle with two eyes? Will they be able to satisfy the rigors of a parliamentary campaign and running their government offices effectively?

‘The Dokua Phenomenon‘

Her decision made political sense to many watchers (looking at Sammi Awuku’s clout) but was she going to win? How a sitting MP in another constituency (Akuapem North) left that constituency and traversed into a new region and constituency (Okaikoi North) to clinch the NPP ticket with not so much stress as the results indicate, has to be the subject of a political science research paper.

But Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei did it, shrugging off competition from some known names and will be attempting to follow in the footsteps of people like Boniface Sadique and Ken Dzirasah who both served as MPs for seats in two different regions.

The NPP goes to the polls again on January 20, 2024 for the big deal!-  the Primaries for sitting MPs.