Audio By Carbonatix
Mr Bernard Mornah, the Immediate Past Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), observed that the nature of the country’s democracy does not help in sustaining minority political parties.
He, therefore, called for a political party stakeholders’ forum to deliberate on how to sustain smaller parties within the political landscape.
Mr Mornah said this in an address read on his behalf at the Party’s 29th-anniversary symposium on 'Consolidating Multi-Party Democracy, Sustaining Minority Parties.'
He said at the inception of the fourth republic, minority party representation was 11.43 per cent, but presently the representation was nearing zero.
“This should be a worry to us because if you don’t have any number to show, you lose your bargaining power,” he stated.
Mr Mornah, therefore, underscored the need for smaller parties to come together and position themselves to increase their representation.
He said the merging of PNC and the Convention people’s Party (CPP) must be mutually beneficial to parties, adding, “If we are using one party name, we must also use the symbol of the other party to avoid people using the same name and symbol and claim to be a true Nkrumaist Party.”
Mr Mornah said funding in the smaller parties was also a great worry and stressed the need for party leaders to explore funding opportunities to ensure the sustenance of smaller parties in the country.
He urged the media to allow minority parties to express their views on national issues without being tagged as being appendages of the ruling party or main opposition party.
Madam Nana Frimpomaa Sarpong KumanKuma, Chairperson of Convention People's Party, CPP, observed that the country’s multi-party system had become a duopolistic, dominated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress, and threatening the survival and general stability of small political parties.
"We need to break the overarching influence of the duopoly and make better sense of Ghana's Multi-Party democracy to conform with the public service intentions of the 1992 Constitution," she said.
Madam Kuman Kuma called for holistic discussions on political parties funding to financially identify alternative strategies and appropriate mechanisms to sound political parties.
Yaw Preko, Deputy Communication's Director, NPP, in a solidarity message, on behalf of the General Secretary of the Party, acknowledged the contributions made by minority parties to sustain Ghana's democracy and to make it a multi-party state, adding, the nation owed it a duty to help and maintained such small political parties to survive rather than suppress them.
Edem Agbana, Deputy National Organiser of NDC, charged minority political parties to promote their ideologies and empower their leaders to speak on critical national matters.
Latest Stories
-
CSIDT proposes 80% of GH¢350m flood budget be invested in prevention
3 hours -
Trump threatens to target Iran’s bridges and power plants if Hormuz attacks persist
4 hours -
Ghana not yet in digital trust crisis, but warning signs are emerging – Kwami Tamakloe
4 hours -
Digital trust crisis looming if fraud concerns are ignored – John Awuah warns
4 hours -
Mamdani backs off pledge to arrest Netanyahu citing lack of authority
4 hours -
Banks’ NPLs drop to 16.1%, but credit risk remains key vulnerability
4 hours -
Business, consumer confidence positive – BoG
4 hours -
We don’t have a trust crisis – BoG urges vigilance against rising digital fraud
5 hours -
GIPC now an authority
5 hours -
Mahama urges African leaders to turn health pledges into concrete investments
5 hours -
NPP Greater Accra Regional Organiser hopeful touts experience, grassroots mobilisation record
5 hours -
WHO warns Africa risks losing decades of health gains as external funding declines
5 hours -
Chief of Staff plants shea tree at Jubilee House to reaffirm government’s commitment to shea industry development
6 hours -
GCB Bank unlocks new pathway to credit with Tier 3 pension-backed loan
6 hours -
Mid-Year Budget: ‘MoU is not a payslip’ – Oppong Nkrumah questions gov’t jobs, economic claims
6 hours