Former President John Agyekum Kufuor says he has observed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of today differs significantly from what it used to be.
According to him, there is deep-seated factionalism within the elephant family.
He made the remarks in an interview with Accra-based TV3.
He has therefore advised the party to carefully assess its activities as it moves forward.
The former head of state lamented that the sense of commitment he once felt within the party seems to have waned.
To address this, he has proposed that the party practice proper democracy and inclusivity over factionalism.
“The way I feel it, I don’t sense the same strong commitment. I have likened commitment to almost a religion. I don’t sense that now. We are talking proper democracy, an inclusive one, you wouldn’t emphasise factions.”
“Once the practice of selecting constituency or [a] national, you wouldn’t be so divisive and emphasizing factions. He belongs to that side so no cooperation. You do that you are dividing the force,” he stated.
John Kufuor won the presidential election of December 2000; in the first round, held on 7 December, Kufuor came in first place with 48.4%, while John Evans Atta-Mills , Jerry Rawlings’ Vice-president, came in second with 44.8%, forcing the two into a run-off vote.
In the second round, held on 28 December, Kufuor was victorious, taking 56.9% of the vote. When Kufuor was sworn in on 7 January 2001, it marked the first time in Ghana’s history that an incumbent government had peaceful transition of power to the opposition.
Kufuor was re-elected in presidential and parliamentary elections held on 7 December 2004, earning 52.45% of the popular vote in the first round and thus avoiding a run-off, while at the same time Kufuor’s party, the New Patriotic Party , was able to secure more seats in the Parliament of Ghana.
