JoyNews has set afloat political a new show which will decode why Ghana’s major political parties, especially the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC), have continuously maintained certain constituencies and regions as fortified grounds.

The launch of the Stronghold ahead of the Parliamentary primaries to be held by the NDC and NPP, is part of efforts to deepen the democratic process. It is the first of its kind and seeks to get the participation of as many constituents as possible, even though the primaries are limited to party delegates.

“We realised that in some constituencies the main contest to Parliament is the primaries. These are the areas where traditionally either the NDC or the NPP has always won. You’ve heard the comment that for some constituencies even if you put a sheep there on the ticket of a certain party, that sheep will win the election. We’re talking about constituencies in Volta especially for the NDC, and Ashanti or Eastern Region for the NPP,” said News Editor, Fred Smith, on the Pulse Show with Gifty Andoh-Appiah, Monday, August 19.

He said: “Because of the nature of these constituencies we realize that the party delegates make the decision on behalf of the entire constituency. PPP [Progressive People’s Party] founder, Dr. Papa Kwesi Ndum, said sometime ago about some people in Ghana’s Parliament and the kind of utterances they make, you wonder if they really convinced thousands of people to get there.”

The Producer of Stronghold further explained that the show is meant to get a lot more people to have a say in who they prefer as their Parliamentarian or at the primaries level.

“We’re starting today with South Tongu in the Volta Region – It’s been an NDC seat since 1992 and you can safely say the NDC will win it next year as well. So the best time to be part of the process is at the primaries level and that is what stronghold seeks to do,” he added.

Watch the preview: