Appreciating democratic ethos
When the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) mounted the platform to present a solidarity message at the national conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Tamale last Saturday and charged the delegates to comport themselves because whatever happened had implications for Ghana, it soothed the hearts of many Ghanaians because that is the way to go.
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If only our politicians will be prepared to reconcile their private actions with their public statements, this country would be entrenching the democratic ethos beyond mere freedom of association into the realisation that this country belongs to all of us and, therefore, national resources, including employment opportunities, must be shared fairly and equitably.
We need to be aware that it is not only at party conferences or congresses that we have to demonstrate mutuality and fraternity with other political parties. If only we would be guided by the national interest at all times, then we could be guarded in the statements and comments we make about other parties or politicians. There are some of us, as politicians, who maul our competitors, sometimes, without justification and so uncharitably. Afterwards, we turn to blame the public for making it difficult for individuals to offer themselves for public office.
When our party is in government and we nominate unqualified persons for certain public offices or remove otherwise competent individuals and replace them with party loyalists, we tell the world that we do not understand democracy. In the same way, when we deliberately undermine laws, rules and regulations, merely, because there is a partisan gain, no matter the cost to the nation, we do not present an image of a people conversant with the democratic ethos.
We all need to learn to accept the fact that party politics does not mean that there is no difference between the government and party. Moreover, it can never be true that the national interest will be inferior to the interest of any of the political parties. That is why when violence is committed by unscrupulous individuals, the name and interest of the party must not be invoked to protect such criminals.
As a country, there are certain principles that we must help inculcate in our citizens. There is no political system better than democracy. If we all pledge ourselves to live by the tenets of democracy, the benefits that accrue from this mode of governance will be for all of us.
Was it not beautiful that Gen. Mosquito used the platform created by the NPP to assert that although the conference was held in Tamale, the NDC will not leave that seat to the NPP. And what about the People’s National Convention ( PNC) using the opportunity to appeal to the NPP to support it in the 2016 polls, since the PNC stands a better chance of winning the election. What more of the democratic ethos than this atmosphere of healthy demonstration of partisanship in the context of the national cause.
Turning to the NPP contestants, now that the elections are over, what would they do as individuals if in the cause of the campaigns they said something defamatory about any of the other contestants? For some of the positions, those who won did not have the support of the majority of the delegates, so what should they do to get everybody on board? That is the reality of any democratic contest firmed on numbers. It is also the reason why contestants must at all times demonstrate mutual respect, decorum and focus on their own strengths rather than harp on perceived weaknesses of other contestants, since the weakness of one candidate does not make another strong.
We must always demonstrate goodwill towards one another and accept that we are all capable so that we leave the choice to the people. When we argue that we are the only ones who can do the work and undermine all others and we do not win, how do we expect those we had run down to take us into confidence.
That is a lesson we must take into national elections. We must understand and appreciate that democratic governance is more about choices between alternative policies and political parties. It is not a choice between good and bad, benevolent or malevolent groupings. We must, thus, learn to respect and recognise every individual who gathers the courage to apply their talent to governance. And when our political parties are in power, it does not mean that we are the only ones whose voices must inform public opinion or we are the only ones who must eat or get employed. This country belongs to all of us and whatever we do have implications for the country in the international arena.