Advocate for True Party Reform-AfTPR
Convener: HON ADJEITEY JNR
The Grassroots Crisis: Why the NPP Must Fix the Foundation, Not Distract With Flagbearer Politics
In the ongoing internal debates within the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a worrying narrative is being pushed—one that blames our internal divisions on the question of who leads the party into 2028. But this is a dangerous distraction from the real issue at hand.
Let it be made clear: the problem within the NPP is not about the flagbearer. The crisis is rooted in the broken and unjust methods used in selecting polling station, electoral area, constituency, and regional executives.
1. Grassroots Betrayal: The Core of the Crisis
The very soul of the NPP lies in its grassroots structures. These are the men and women who sacrifice daily for the survival and success of the party. But over the last few years, many loyal members have been sidelined, silenced, and replaced through questionable and non-transparent processes. In many constituencies, polling station elections were not held at all. Cards were sold behind closed doors, meetings were hijacked, and selection replaced election.
This betrayal of the grassroots is what is tearing the party apart—not the presidential cacandidate.
2. Flawed Elections, Flawed Representation
If the base of the party feels that the executives do not represent them, then the party’s entire democratic structure collapses. Executives who were handpicked or imposed through undemocratic means cannot unite the base, inspire volunteers, or deliver votes. The ripple effect is clear: division, apathy, and deepening mistrust.
Worse still, most of these handpicked polling station and electoral area coordinators do not even know their roles or responsibilities within the party. Many of them lack a basic understanding of party organization, community mobilization, or political strategy. All they know is how to show up and vote during internal primaries—and that is all. This is a dangerous situation that reduces the party’s grassroots to a tool for selection rather than a foundation for action.
3. Rising Apathy and Disconnect
The consequences are showing: party loyalists are losing interest. Apathy is rising across constituencies, especially among the base that feels used and forgotten. Long-serving polling station agents, serial campaigners, youth volunteers, and foot soldiers are withdrawing in silence.
Worse, former government officials—many of whom benefited from the hard work of grassroots members—are now avoiding the very people who worked to put them in office. They no longer engage the base, no longer attend meetings in the constituencies, and have completely distanced themselves from the ordinary party member. This lack of humility and accountability deepens the resentment and breaks the bond between leadership and supporters.
4. The Flagbearer Debate is a Smokescreen
The attempt to focus the national conversation on the flagbearer is a political smokescreen. Whether it’s Candidate A or Candidate B is irrelevant if the grassroots feel alienated. A presidential candidate, no matter how competent, cannot win an election without a united and motivated grassroots. Fixing the foundation is more important than picking the face of the campaign.
5. We Must Rebuild from the Bottom Up
If the NPP is to remain a credible force in Ghanaian politics, it must restore faith in its internal democratic processes. That begins with a full review—and where necessary, a re-run—of polling station and constituency elections. All party members deserve the chance to vote and be voted for. No one should be disenfranchised simply to serve the interest of a few power brokers.
6. A Call to the National Leadership: Listen to the Base
I am calling on the National Executive Committee and Council of Elders to look beyond personalities and fix the process. Healing and victory will not come from the top down—it must start from the bottom up. Until the issues at the grassroots are addressed, unity will remain elusive, and electoral success will be at risk.
Conclusion: Fix the Process, Not the Narrative
Let us stop pretending that our internal problems are about who becomes flagbearer. The NPP has survived changes in leadership before—but it cannot survive if its grassroots are abandoned. The way forward is clear: return to true party democracy, respect the voice of every member, and rebuild the party from the foundation.
#The future of NPP depends not on the top, but on the base.
#Fix the base, and the top will stand strong.
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