What happens when local governance becomes a battleground for political parties? That’s the warning National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia is sounding, and he’s not mincing words.
Appearing on JoyNews’ PM Express on June 25, Asiedu Nketia pushed back strongly against growing calls for political parties to officially sponsor candidates in Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executive (MMDCE) elections. To him, it’s a dangerous road that could destroy the neutrality and community-focused spirit local leadership is meant to uphold.
“If I go to contest in an electoral area, everybody knows that I’m the National Chairman of NDC. So if I win, NDC will claim to have won, but I’m not being sponsored by the NDC,” he pointed out.
“If you say NDC should sponsor, it comes with a cost. It comes with many other implications.” One of those implications, he warned, is the temptation for elected leaders to prioritize party interests over the welfare of the entire community.
Asiedu Nketia stressed that although political actors will naturally prefer candidates who align with their ideologies, forcing parties to bankroll campaigns officially opens the door to partisanship at the grassroots level.
“In the course of doing my work, I will have to satisfy my partisan constituency instead of the whole community — and that comes with consequences,” he explained.
He acknowledged the obvious, that political parties already have a stake in local elections, but insisted there’s a line that should not be crossed. “Parties will wish that candidates aligned with their cause will win. It is not the same thing as a party sponsoring the candidate.” His comments add fuel to Ghana’s ongoing national debate about whether MMDCE elections should remain non-partisan or be fully politicized.
