EDITORIAL: Another Feather In Ghana's Democratic CAP

Over the weekend, the Convention People's Party (CPP) held its national delegates congress at the Essipon Stadium in Sekondi, during which Dr Abu Sakara Forster, one of the two candidates vying for the flagbearership of the party, chalked up a clear and emphatic victory.

Dr Sakara polled 1,130 votes, as against Mr Bright Akwetey’s 917, to claim the right to lead the CPP to the 2012 elections.

By all accounts, the congress was a significant success for the CPP. Not only did the deliberations go well; the main voting to choose the new CPP leader went on successfully.

The delegates list was acceptable to both parties, the voting went on very smoothly and, most important of all, the verdict of the delegates was accepted and applauded by all the parties.

To cap a successful congress, both the victor and the vanquished embraced each other and declared the CPP the winner.

We take this opportunity to congratulate both candidates on their exemplary conduct and to wish Dr Sakara and all flag bearers the best in the general election slated for the end of the year.

We have always maintained that it is largely when the internal democratic workings of parties get deepened and broadened that our politics at the national and inter-party levels will be properly anchored and made to endure.

When political leaders emerge from clean and competitive internal democratic contests, they are better placed to acknowledge and appreciate the beauty of winning and losing elections in the democratic context and will be well positioned to either rejoice in victory or graciously concede defeat to their opponents at the national level.

It is gratifying to note that since 1992 when we returned to the liberal democratic order, the internal democratic workings of the political parties have witnessed steady improvement.

The era when national executive members or presidential candidates were imposed on parties or ran solo as unchallenged is long gone.

In this era of competitive internal politics, the parties have to choose the best and, in so doing, position the country to choose from among an array of good materials the best man for Ghana.

With the CPP congress over, the stage now appears set for full campaigning to unfold towards the December general election.

We wish to remind the parties that what the good people of this country are looking for are not those who insult but those who deal with concrete issues and alternatives that hold the key to improving their livelihoods.

Today, the electorate is more sophisticated and will no longer fall for the ‘polytricks’, mudslinging and peddling of falsehood of the past.

Ghana’s politics is increasingly coming of age and we urge political actors to remain focused and vigilant, so that together we work to further consolidate our democratic gains and retain our status as an oasis of peace, democracy and good governance in West Africa.

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