President of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, has dispelled the erroneous impression being created by a section of Ghanaians that Ghana is a two-party state.
The fact that two political parties, notably the ruling National Democratic Congress(NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP,) have had the chance to govern this country since 1992, Dr. Nduom said, does not make the country a two-party State.
“Our 1992 Constitution does not allow that and no institution including Parliament and the Executive can force us to join any party,” he pointed out.
Dr. Nduom was continuing his national discourse on an array of issues bothering the nation with viewers and listeners on Ghana Great and Strong, a non-partisan programme, broadcast every Saturday from 7:00PM-8:00P.M., on Ghana’s premier internet based radio, www.hedjorleonlineradio.com.
Dr. Nduom, who was the PPP’s 2012 flag-bearer, could not understand why some political parties would be given preference when in the actual sense the Political Party Law does not give room for such tendencies.
He was not only worried about the posture of the leadership of Parliament that deliberately refused to invite the PPP, but other institutions like the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) which over the years, has made it a policy not to regard any party that does not have a representative in Ghana’s Parliament.. Our Constitution makes room for Independent Presidential and Parliamentary candidates. Where would those obsessed with forcing two parties on Ghanaians place them? Political parties exist to do more than contest elections. They are to contribute ideas and help bring solutions to solve our problems, he said.
“What is this about representation in Parliament which the IEA is so obsessed about to the extent that it has made it a policy not to invite parties which have no members in Parliament to its programmes like the presidential debates?” Dr. Nduom asked.
Ghana, he went on to state, cannot develop if this trend continued without recourse to the supreme book of the country which is the Constitution.
According to Dr. Nduom, the only institution that can determine the legitimacy of a political party is the Electoral Commission (EC).
The 2012 flag-bearer of the PPP pointed out that Chapter 7 of the 1992 Constitution spells out clearly the role of political parties and how they [political parties] should be recognised.
Against this background, he advised Ghanaians, particularly those who did not know much about the formation of political parties in Ghana, to read that aspect of the Constitution so as not to make “irresponsible” comments.
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