Since its humiliating defeat in last week’s elections, the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has gone divisive over whose actions and inactions accounted for the party’s crush.
Stan Dogbe, a presidential staffer, for example, is said to have accused the outgoing Minister for Communications, Dr Edward Omane-Boama, for the party’s defeat.
Deputy General Secretary, Koku Anyidoho and the Campaign Coordinator of the NDC, Kofi Adams, have also received several bashing from party foot soldiers.
Mr. E. T Mensah, the outgoing Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, just like most Ghanaians, feels it was simply complacency that brought the party down.
Kofi Adams, who thought claiming responsibility for the lose would calm the waters, rather had fierce reaction from Yamoah Ponkoh, a former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ejisu, who thinks hanging him was the only option.
The accusations and counter-accusations within the umbrella family are not without the outcry of the party supporters, whose claim that the greedy and selfish attitudes of their leaders had a huge impact on their trouncing, have since occupied traditional and social media space.
Yesterday, The Chronicle reported that NDC foot soldiers in the Ashanti Region were pursing members of the regional campaign team to refund huge sums of money sent to them to campaign for the polls.
According to the story, “the party had targeted 1.5million votes but ended up not getting even 40% of it. The foot soldiers are now blaming those who were assigned the responsibility of prosecuting the agenda of the party for disappointing them.”
A member of the Communication Team of the party in the region, Yakubu Tony Aidoo, on Tuesday, reportedly led thugs to the Regional Office of the party and locked up the place.
His action was a protest against the regional executives, whom he and other foot soldiers had accused of disappointing the teeming supporters.
The Chronicle believes though that, no individual could be singled out for the party’s defeat. The leadership of the party, particularly the communicators, did not concentrate on the core issues to attract the voters.
Instead of telling Ghanaians why they deserved their vote, the NDC thought hinging its campaign on the personality of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, instead, would do the trick.
The NDC also thought the infrastructural works of the Mahama-led administration was more of a campaign message than the NPP’s ‘one district one, one factory; one dam’ mantra.
The Chronicle observed the intensity of the NDC’s campaign around the schools, roads and health facilities President John Dramani Mahama had constructed. These facilities got them so swollen-headed that the party thought it was a done deal, hence the arrogance of ministers and party executives.
Meanwhile, President Mahama is on record to have told Ghanaians in the heat of the 2008 election campaign that infrastructure was not enough for the people to retain the NPP in power. What then changed in 2016?
Now, the elections are over; the referee of the game has blown her final whistle. The NPP has won by a wide margin.
The best the NDC would have to do at this point in time is to move to the drawing board, re-strategize and come back a stronger team in 2020. Blame game will not do the party any good.
It is of essence that the party always reflects on the saying: “There is no use crying over spilled milk.”
The indigenous Ghanaian mantra that, after elections, no campaign, should also be enough comfort for the party and its teeming followers..
The Chronicle wishes the NDC well in opposition. The party’s record in infrastructure might be a reference point in the future. What is important now for followers of the NDC to leave the past behind, remain united and focused so that it can play an effective opposition role of a watchdog on the in-coming administration.
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