A senior lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Dr. Seidu Ali, has said that over the years in Ghana, political ideologies play a little role in winning elections.
According to him, political parties have to make sure that they release their manifestos at least a year to elections for it to inform the decision the electorate will make.
Speaking in an interview on Happy FM’s Happy Morning Show with Samuel Eshun, Dr. Ali said electorate must be given enough time to scrutinize “It is important that direct beneficiaries of the policies should be consulted in putting manifestos together. The people who will vote for you will need to study your manifesto and analyze it. So they need adequate time to be able to scrutinize and criticize what these parties are bringing onboard.”
Dr. Ali also added that the political parties must engage Ghanaians before they prepare their manifesto. “It is important that direct beneficiaries of the policies should be consulted in putting manifestos together. In Ghana, manifestos are formulated to win elections and not necessarily for parties to promote their ideologies.”
Debate on Happy Morning Show (HMS) continues on when political parties should present their Manifestos.
However, a manifesto is one of the main factors that influence electoral outcomes or voter behavior and alignment in elections in the Western world.
In spite of the potential influence of the party manifesto, several comparative and empirical studies on elections in Ghana have paid little or no attention to manifestos in determining the electoral outcomes of political parties in the Fourth Republic.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is, however, accepting contributions from organized groups as it puts together the manifesto ahead of the December elections.
The opposition party in a statement issued Sunday and signed by Deputy General Secretary, Peter Boamah Otokunor, requests for “Policy Memoranda from the general public, Civil Society Organisations, Trade Unions, Associations and other identifiable groups in the country.”
It is unclear if the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is going to present a manifesto ahead of the general election.
By: Joseph Nii Ankrah