The Absurdity Of The New Battle Cry

“ ALAN FOR RUNNING MATE OR ELSE…

By: KALAKOR SAAMOUR.

There is a recent clamour within a very small section of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to guarantee the position of running mate to Mr. Alan Kyerematen well ahead of the proposed Electoral College to select the substantive flag bearer of the Party before year-end 2010. I must admit that this is a rather curious and confused agitation indeed. The curious twist in this agitation is the rumour, deliberately floated to the effect that Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP Presidential Candidate for 2008 and the presumed front-runner, has rejected suggestions that Alan Kyerematen should be his running mate. The extent of the agitation has caused the office of Nana Akufo-Addo to issue a statement. A salient part of that statement reads, “The office wishes to inform NPP members, NPP faithful and the general public that it is not true that a meeting has been called or even taken place. The office wishes to place on record that Nana Akufo-Addo welcomed any suggestion or combination of persons on the ticket of the NPP that would secure unity and victory for the party in 2010”.

There are some immediate and obvious problems with this proposition. In the first instance, if Alan Kyerematen is guaranteed the running mate position beforehand, and then goes on to win the nomination, then what? Does he then abandon the guaranteed position for the number one slot, and then in line with the NPP Constitution, proceeds to select his own running mate? Of course if he does not win the nomination, he would have, by previous agreement, been guaranteed the running mate position anyway. This posture shows an Alan Kyerematen who is afraid to take any risk along his chosen political career and seeks refuge in guarantees and insurance. It also shows and Alan Kyerematen who in his heart knows he can’t win the nomination but cannot afford to go away empty handed, as he should.

Here are some of the other reasons why I find this agitation curious and absurd. Is this effort seeking to guarantee the position of the running mate to Mr. Alan Kyerematen whether or not we convene the Electoral College to select the flag bearer? Or is it an attempt to forestall the convening of the Electoral College? In other words, is Alan Kyerematen and his backers saying that, guarantee him the position of running mate and then we go to the Electoral College anyway so that if he fails to win the nomination, then at least, he will be the automatic running mate to whoever wins. Or is he saying that if the NPP guarantees for him the position of running mate, then there will be no need to convene an electoral college. In other words, this grant should be exchanged for the Party abandoning the convening of an Electoral College altogether.

In the second instance, if the Party is expected to guarantee the running mate position for Alan Kyerematen so it abandons the legitimate process of selecting a flag bearer through an electoral college, then it presupposes that there is also an implied agreement as to who the flag bearer ought to be. In this case, I suppose that Alan Kyerematen and his backers would be conceding the number one position on the ticket to the presumed front-runner, Nana Akufo-Addo. There are inherent problems with such an arrangement as well. In order to achieve this outcome, there must be a 100% agreement and consensus within the NPP. What happens to the Isaac Oseis and the Professor Frimpong Boatengs who have declared their intentions to contest for the flag bearership? Is the NPP going to wish them away or deny them their legitimate ambitions in order to appease the ambitions of Alan Kyerematen?

Some have gone to the illogical extent of demanding the running mate slot for Alan Kyerematen on the premise that he was the runner-up during the last NPP presidential primaries and is therefore entitled to the position of a running mate. Others even went as far as trying to have the inordinate ambitions of one man inserted in the NPP Constitution that the running mate position should automatically be given to the runner-up of NPP presidential primaries. The most egregious of all the arguments is that since there are two factions in the party, representatives or agents of these factions ought to occupy the numbers one and two slots on the NPP presidential ticket by rotation, to ensure the unity of the party.

All these arguments, unfortunately, are extremely short sighted, flawed and are carved to serve the narrow interest of individuals instead of the collective interest of the party. They do not look beyond their immediate participation into the long term future of the NPP. Let us examine these arguments closely.

Alan Kyerematen was indeed the runner-up to Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2007 primaries and, it is argued, he is therefore entitled to the running mate position for the 2012 election. What are the same people not arguing that because Nana Akufo-Addo was the winner of the 2007 primaries, he is entitled to become the flag bearer for the 2012 election? It sounds to me that there is a tacit admission to this position by the proponents of the Alan Kyerematen argument.

If we were to etch in this proposition and set the precedent of granting the running mate position flexibility to make strategic decisions to its advantage. Can anyone imagine a situation where two Gas, Ewes, Dagombas, Farafaras or Fantes come first and second in NPP primaries? Any ticket made up of two Gas, Ewes, Dagombas, Farafaras or Fantes cannot be marketed anywhere in Ghana. It is a recipe for total disaster. Yet this is precisely what such a Constitutional arrangement could open the NPP up to.

How about the argument that granting the numbers one and two positions to the two factions within the party as a way of uniting the NPP. This argument borders on lunacy and is simply preposterous. It implies that we want to perpetrate factions in the party instead doing away with them. Those who make this argument ought to remember that the NPP is a political party and not a chieftaincy arrangement. The surest way of entrenching factionalism is to accord it recognition through rewards or entitlement. If faction A and B become entitled to the two slots on the presidential ticket, what will be their incentive to disband? Will this not serve as permanent channels by which people in the NPP can hope to ascend to the top echelons of the party? What are the implications for competence instead of upward mobility based on which faction one belongs to? As mortals, we will all pass away sooner or later, but the party hopefully will outlive us. What happens when the protagonists who formed these factions may have passed on? This train of thought is so deranged and must therefore not be allowed to see the light of day. Whilst party unity is important, victory is crucial. The NPP wants not to be united in opposition but for victory. Does a ticket that purports to signal unity also lead the party to victory?

All these gyrations and agitation turns solely on the unbridled ambitions and greed of one man. Anytime you hear any ugly noises in the NPP, it is Alan Kyerematen fighting a proxy war for his personal interest and not for the collective interest of the Party. It is always about fighting for a position for himself and not helping build the party and its structures. The “or else” proviso is as interesting as it is worrying.

Part of Alan's campaign team's message in recent weeks, here in the North at least, has been that people should vote for him or else Ex-President Kufuor would not bring his money to support the party in 2012. This self-incriminating message says that (1) Kufuor has money (2) He made loads of money waa waa during his time in government (3) Kufuor won office on the party's ticket (4) without Kufuor's millions the NPP can't win office (5) Kufuor is not a party man but an Alan person (6) Kufuor is ungrateful to the party (7) Kufuor did not work for the party in 2008 because his candidate Alan did not win, and (8) NPP cannot count on Kufuor's help in 2012. This self-hanging sort of statement is very, very unfair to the former President.

If Alan and his backers will not have their way, then the implied threat always laid at the doorstep of the NPP is the division of the Party. The NPP must begin to ignore that threat otherwise it opens itself up to perpetual ransom. It is this game group that sponsored a series of damning text messages against other aspirants in 2007; it was this same group that intimidated, harassed and sacked government appointees (including DCEs, Ministers and Francis Poku), who did not support the Kufuor agenda to impose Alan on the party in 2012. So bitter a taste did this destructive tactic left in the mouths of the majority of party activists that it made it difficult for the minority group of Alan supporters to join the larger fold. And, rather than motivating them to do so, Alan selfishly chose to resign from the party.

The NPP as a democratic party must abide by the principle that the minority will always have its say, and the majority its way. Once a decision is made, the minority must not resort to threat, but join the majority in implementing whatever decisions or arrangements there may be. This “or else” proviso is alien to the NPP and must not be tolerated.

The NPP has a Constitutional process for the selection of a Vice Presidential candidate. That is the subject of Article 12(b), which states, “the Party’s Presidential Candidate shall, in consultation with the National Council, nominate the Vice Presidential candidate at least twelve (12) months before the general elections when the party is not in government or the sitting President is not the Candidate. The National Council may however dispense with the requirement under special circumstances”.

This is how and the proper way of selecting a running mate and not through the agitation rearing its ugly head in the national media. The normal process, stipulated by the NPP Constitution is to first select a Presidential Candidate who then nominates a running mate. That is the natural order. What Alan Kyerematen and his backers are trying to do is to stampede the NPP into doing is tantamount to selecting a running mate before the substantive Presidential Candidate is selected. That is a violation of the NPP Constitution and a violation of common sense - a complete absurdity.

If the NPP wants to stay true to its creed and credentials, then it must not allow itself to be stampeded into selecting a running mate before the substantive presidential candidate has been selected. Just as President Kuffour and Nana Akuffo-Addo were allowed the space to select their running mates, the next Presidential candidate must also be allowed the space and to be stampeded into conceding to errant consciences.