Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has criticized Ghanaian politics for its “winner-take-all” mentality.
Following the current situation in Parliament, he said that the country needs to reconsider its political mentality.
Mr. Kufuor believes that the near-equal allocation of seats in Parliament between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) after last year’s elections demonstrates the need for reconciliation.
Ex-President Kufuor said the time for progressive governance is now, and the country must not neglect it.
“We have to get rid of the winner-take-all attitude, where if you’re not on my side, you’re my enemy. That is not the path we should take as a country. With the current state of the election, I believe we are all being compelled to accept that authority does not rest solely with one side.”
“Now that we have a hung Parliament, the executive will have to learn to appease [the Minority] so that the winner does not get everything,” he said.
Mr. Kufour has said that political competition is an important concept in keeping the government in place in the country’s political domain.
According to the former President, such rivalries should be promoted even within political parties and should not be seen as detrimental to governance.
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“Parties must be inclusive, according to our constitution. It mentions the people as having jurisdiction. The theory of checks and balances is upheld by the competition between political parties, which ensures that sovereignty is not trapped in government. Otherwise, smart alecs will seize [power] and flee with it, and we’ll all lose.”
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
