Advertisement

NPP has themselves to blame for defeat - Amakye-Boateng

A political science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Mr Kwasi Amakye-Boateng, says the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should stop crying foul, and rather blame themselves for the party’s defeat in the just ended general election.

He said the NPP leadership lacked strategic planning, and that there was little surprise the party lost.

Speaking in an interview with graphic.com.gh in Kumasi Monday, Mr Amakye-Boateng said the party’s electoral machine did not possess the firepower to outdo the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

 “It is clear that the NPP needs a major shake up at leadership level if it wanted to recover its lost glory,” he stressed.
He stated that it was clear the party leadership had lost touch with the political environment.

“On the whole, I think the party needs to take a second look at its understanding of politics.

 “For instance, the NPP must start looking at how they relate to people who do not belong to their political tradition,” he stressed.

Mr Amakye-Boateng accused the elite in the party of influencing the selection of the presidential candidate who “was not competitive.”

He said having presented a presidential candidate who did not do well in the 2008 and 2012 elections, the NPP should be informed that the candidate was not competitive.

The political science lecturer said the fact that President Mahama carried some of the “garbage” associated with late President Mills into the elections and yet managed to win first time was enough grounds to tell NPP that all was not well with them.

For Mr Mahama to use a limited  time to campaign, and yet win the elections first touch meant the NDC were tactically superior to the NPP in electioneering.

He said the defeat of the party should be a wake-up call to the NPP that the Ghanaian voter could not be taken for granted.

Mr Amakye-Boateng suggested that in choosing national leaders in future, the NPP should look at people who did not come from their support base.

Story by Kwame Asare Boadu

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |