A former presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Arthur Kobina Kennedy has criticized the NPP’s recent governance record, saying it lost the 2024 elections because it governed with “recklessness, corruption, and impunity.”
In his view, the electorate’s decision to reject the NPP should not be dismissed but applauded. “They delivered the verdict because they were unhappy,” he said.
“And we should actually commend them for that.”
Dr. Kennedy revealed that as many as 20% of John Mahama’s voters were disgruntled NPP members, some of whom crossed the line to vote for the NDC, while others stayed home entirely.
“We’re not entitled to their votes,” he stressed.
“We must earn them back with good policies, good ideas, and an apology,” Arthur Kennedy noted.
He cited grapevine information that former President Kufuor privately advised the party ex-president Akufo-Addo to apologize to Ghanaians.
He described as “pure bull” arguments from those in the party denying the need for accountability, insisting that “the party needs accountability and renewal from the polling stations all the way up to the presidential candidacy.”
According to him, the problems with the NPP go beyond personalities.
“What we saw in the last eight years wasn’t the real NPP, it was a distortion of our values,” he said, calling for the demonetization of internal party primaries and a fresh start.
“A primary system where people can buy votes disconnects us from the grassroots. That’s why people are voting for the NDC or staying home.”
Dr. Kennedy proposed a structural reform for party primaries, inspired by systems in the US, UK, and Canada.
His suggestion is to allow all party sympathizers not just vet delegates to vote in primaries.
“If you register as a voter and declare allegiance to a party, you should be allowed to vote in that party’s primaries,” he said.
“We can use the Electoral Commission’s database, the most reliable we have, and build from there.”
Such a change, he argued, would reduce vote-buying, restore legitimacy, and better reflect the party’s actual strength on the ground.
“You can’t bribe everyone in Bantama and Walewale,” he said bluntly.
Dr. Kennedy warned that leadership renewal shouldn’t begin at the top but from the bottom.
“National leaders, constituency chairpersons, and polling station executives are foundational. Sometimes, even more important than the presidential candidate,” he stated.
He believes this is the only way to ensure that the next NPP flagbearer comes into office with a clear parliamentary majority.
“We don’t need less democracy. We need more,” he said.
“The NPP is still a better party than what we’ve seen in recent years, but unless we go back to the people and rebuild trust, we’ll lose our relevance.”
