The NDC'S Kumbungu Dirge

The fact is that the National Democratic Party (NDC) has lost its Kumbungu monarchy to the Convention People's Party (CPP). Records show that the CPP has done badly in Ghana's modern elections. It is clear why the party is making merry of the Kumbungu victory.

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation's Justice Mingle says, 'The victory of the CPP in the Kumbungu Constituency by-election is significant in the sense that this is the first time the party has won a by-election in the country since the return to democracy in 1992. The achievement gives the party which hitherto had no representation in the legislature, a voice in the law-making body' adding, 'The NDC which relinquished the seat paving the way for the by-election will this time be counting its loss since it has dominated the constituency all along'.

That seat became vacant after Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni abdicated it following his appointment as Secretary General of the African Carribean and Pacific States. Article 112(5) of the Constitution as amended by section 3 of Act 527 forced the Electoral Commission (EC) to hold a by-election for a new legislator to be elected.

The NDC filed back Alhaji Imoro Yakubu Kakpagu, a one-time MP and immediate predecessor of Alhaji Mumuni, after the party's primary in the constituency. Critics predicted doom for the NDC with the reason that, 'The man (Kakpagu) had a litany of unfulfilled promises during his tenure as a legislator'.

But since the major opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) declined to contest the seat due to unresolved national electoral issues it has with the EC, the NDC saw it as a cool chop for them.

The CPP and its 61-year-old Amadu Moses Yahaya, we were told, left no stone unturned in their campaigns. In run-up to the election, the party cried over some alleged brutalities of its members and supporters by the ruling NDC. Mr. Yahaya's result in the 2012 December polls was abysmal. He was seen as a no threat at all to the NDC.

By Thursday, May 2, Amadu Moses Yahaya had been announced winner with 13,039 votes over NDC's Alhaji Imoro Yakubu Kakpagu's 11,896. CPP must be thankful to Kumbungu for this lone seat.

Mr. Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr has this to say, 'Kumbungu also teaches the need to ensure clean, clear, transparent and law-abiding polls. The constitutional and statutory violations, malpractices and irregularities which characterised the December 2012 elections were absent in Kumbungu. Given a free and fair ground where manipulation of any kind is absent, all parties will score the true will and wish of the people'.

The NDC has started singing dirges prior to the actual 'funeral' at Parliament. Some sympathizers also give nice lullaby. Some say their party has lost because of party internal wrangling prior to the election and ineffectual campaign activities due to concentration on the 2012 Election case at the Supreme Court.

As some accuse the NPP of having supported the CPP to defeat the NDC, others also believe that the ruling party lost for poor performance in areas of water, energy, employment and micro-economy.

The CPP Deputy Communications Director, Ernesto Yeboah, brags that his party has won due to the quality of its candidate, support from the PNC, area youth and security agencies throughout the electioneering.

Moses Amadu Yahaya, a Christian and an ex-assembly member, is said to have helped his people so much as an individual. As an NGO man, we are told, he has been able to lobby for 136 boreholes for the 116 communities in the area, connected seven communities with pipe borne water, provided micro-credit to women groups, organized free extra classes for students and also clean up exercises in the area.

Though has no personal interest in this victory, the writer believes Kumbungu residents have shifted their political antenna this time around to the CPP on grounds of good will for Mr. Yahaya other than party. Personal competence rather than party symbol or religious affiliation was heavily considered.

Could this have happened at Volta? Only time can tell. The recent Akatsi South and Buem bye-elections were coolly claimed by the NDC. As to whether that will automatically translate into development, only Heavens know.

Hardly people would vote a candidate with no party. Independent parliamentarians are rare to come by. As some look at party symbols, others link parties to tribes and religions. Party ideologies and manifestoes are least considered.

It is high time electorates looked at the worth in candidates and decide. Who says the so-called ugly person or a gorilla-emblem party has nothing to offer society?

Peter F. Drucker's saying that, 'Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes' is enough to get us awaken.

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