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The lessons that Amenfi
West has taught us (Part 1)
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Part 1
Part 2
Folks, we are happy to note that the bye-elections in the
Amenfi West constituency took place today without any
incident to disturb the peace. Voting was generally smooth,
free, and fair. In the end, the NDC’s candidate, Eric Afful,
won 15,809 votes (52.64%) to defeat the NPP’s Paul Derkyi,
who had 13,076 votes (43.54%). Abraham Kwadwo Buadee of the
Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the United Front
Party’s Elvis Adjei, polled 1,032 and 113 votes
respectively. (See
http://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2015/December-16th/ndc-retains-amenfi-west-constituency.php#sthash.lqDeVh3M.dpuf).
It doesn’t really matter to me at this point whether in the
2012 elections the NDC won by a wider margin or not. After
all, the circumstances surrounding general elections are
different from those surrounding a bye-election. In the end,
all win be win!! We recall that ex-President Mills defeated
Akufo-Addo by a slight margin, thanks to the support of the
Tain voters. At Election 2012, President Mahama didn’t have
to garner millions of votes to brush aside Akufo-Addo. All
that our Constitution says is 50%+1 vote!! All win be win,
folks!!
I am happy to announce the death of empty political
rhetoric, ethnic politics, and negative propaganda for its
own sake. Voters won’t be swayed by such fluff. The NDC won
because it has substance that the people can relate to. The
NPP lost because it is still unable to connect with the
people despite its massive propaganda against the incumbent
administration. The people can sift the chaff from the
grain.
Those in the Amenfi West area know very well the issues at
stake, especially the fact that they belong to the deprived
segments of the population; that they do not have enough
food on their tables; that they cannot pay high school fees
to support their wards in schools; that they cannot pay high
tariff rates; that they lack basic amenities like potable
water; etc., etc. But they also have a strong faith in the
government that it can tackle problems to ease the burden on
them despite the poisoning of their minds by the
anti-government propagandists. At least, they know what they
need to know about why their existential problems aren’t
being easily fixed with the flick of a finger. No
manipulation here by any political trickster will win them
over. Take it or leave it.
So, the NDC and NPP approached the bye-elections with
specific agenda based on their ability or otherwise to
penetrate the fold of the voters. For both parties, the
bye-elections took place at a particularly difficult time,
each faced with peculiar difficulties that needed to be
understood on their own terms.
The NDC had more at stake than the NPP, clearly because of
the performance of the Mahama-led administration that its
political opponents have mounted rooftops to condemn as
responsible for the hardship facing Ghanaians. It needed to
retain that Parliamentary seat to prove its critics wrong.
True, the going is tough for the people, especially in the
light of worsening living standards and the hugely negative
impact of the energy crisis on almost all sectors of
national life.
In addition, the rising cost of utility services,
unemployment, and near desperation among the people might
lead one to conclude that the government’s rating would be
really low and that voters won’t go for the candidate
representing it at the polls. Given the massive propaganda
against it by the NPP, one might think that the NDC wouldn’t
appeal to the voters; but as the situation turned out, it
remained in good reckoning, which explains why its candidate
won the bid. What this victory signifies is that the NDC
hasn’t lost traction in that part of Ghana. Once its
supporters remain loyal to it, they will vote for it no
matter what happens.
How about the NPP? The party approached the bye-elections
with a heavy burden, apparently because of its internal
crisis and the suspension of its elected national officers
to create the impression that it is a divided house. Despite
claims by Akufo-Addo and others that the NPP is united, it
will be difficult for observers not to see the cracks.
Obviously, the NPP was seeking to win the bye-elections to
have a bragging right and to use it as a stimulus for its
electioneering efforts toward Election 2016. That was why it
sank everything into it; but the outcome has confirmed that
the constituency remains loyal to the NDC.
Had the NPP won the elections, a lot would have been
happening by now to “shake” the ground as the party’s
“kukrudu” slogan would have it happen. But with this loss,
there is no “Eshi wurado wurado”. Instead, there is a sober
reflection by the party’s leaders to know what went wrong.
After all, they had harped on the failures of this
government and instilled so much hope in their followers
that they could do better if put in power. They wanted to
use this Amenfi West bye-election as a trump-card for their
electioneering campaigns. Remember that on December 19,
Akufo-Addo would announce his Election 2016 Campaign Team;
and hopes had been high that an electoral victory in this
bye-election would be the energizer for everything to be
done henceforth. Unfortunately, the electorate have poured
ice-cold water on that hope.
Now that the dust has settled, what do we see? The picture
is clear: that despite the persistent condemnation of the
Mahama-led administration as incompetent by the NPP—and
despite the hyping of the AMERI power deal as an instance of
corruption and incompetence of the government—the NDC could
still outdo the NPP, not because it induced the voters with
material gifts but because it has given enough evidence of
what it could do or not do to win the minds and hearts of
the majority of the voters. This particular victory has been
achieved because of what the NDC means to the people, not
because of how the NPP is leading the smear campaign against
it. True, the people are suffering, but they know why and
won’t easily be swayed by the NPP’s propaganda.
What lessons, then, does Amenfi West teach us? Many!!
1. Regardless of how the NPP attacks the government, once
the citizens know what the challenges are, they will be more
prepared to put their trust in the government than in the
NPP, which is making so much noise about good intentions for
governance but not providing any concrete substance on how
it will administer Ghana better than what the Mahama-led
administration is doing.
2. Winning elections depends more on reaching out to the
electorate with substantial policy initiatives than crying
hoarse in condemning the incumbent administration. As was
evident in Akufo-Addo’s speech at the NPP’s rally on Sunday,
nothing assuring came from him. By boring the people with
allegations against President Mahama and constantly
characterizing him as “incompetent”, he said nothing to tell
the people what he could do better. Telling them that he
wasn’t seeking political office to steal Ghana’s money was
as hollow as annoying. What he failed to do was that he
didn’t connect with the voters; and only NPP buffs would
fall for such hogwash. Indeed, Akufo-Addo didn’t help the
NPP’s cause at all because he said nothing substantial to
prove that the NPP could be a better choice. Why, then, put
in Parliament someone who would just add to the number? The
voters would rather go for someone on the winning side to
bring home to them their share of the national cake. And
that was what they did by rejecting the NPP’s candidate.
3. Akufo-Addo and his NPP seem not to know how to read the
barometer to know voter sentiments. They remain fixated on
their anachronistic approaches to pursuing electioneering
campaigns and will continue to lag behind. The truth is that
the people already know what the situation in the country
is. What they don’t know and are looking for is: What will
the NPP do differently to solve problems? An astute
politician will know this fact and provide ready answers to
woo the electorate. Not so for the NPP under Akufo-Addo.
Everything is woven around a campaign of calumny and disdain
against President Mahama and the NDC.
4. The NPP people think that using the mass media is better
than face-to-face interactions with the electorate, which
explains why they have invested so much in talk-shows on
air, which they use to insult and not clear doubts about
their own abilities or to present their party’s agenda for
national development. The persistent recourse to such
talk-shows won’t help their cause in any way. But they will
not abandon it because that is the main weapon in their
arsenal. Poor souls!!
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
to continue the conversation.
Cont'd:
Part 2
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