Executive Director of Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA) has described the decision by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to grant amnesty to party members who left or those under disciplinary action as a bad precedent.
Michael Donyina Mensah stated that the amnesty granted is not a politically wise decision.
He indicated that if indeed the party had plans to grant amnesty to its suspended party members, it should have done so while they were in office and not while in opposition.
Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Mr. Donyina Mensah asserted that the party, while in office, intimidated some party members for voicing out and standing up to some of the things they did wrong.
To him, this decision is one of the low-hanging fruits that will later affect the stability of the NPP.
“This is a very dangerous decision. It’s like trying to sell something expensive that no one is buying, so you decide to sell it at a “dokomi” or clearance price. If they were still in power, would they have granted amnesty to the suspended party members? Would they have made that decision between 2020 and 2024 while they were in office? They intimidated and harassed dissenting voices in the party. But today, they have granted amnesty to all suspended party members, which shows how cheap the party has become.
This decision is in their own interest. When you’re in government, division is different from being in opposition with a divided party. The NPP suffered a humiliating defeat in the 2024 general elections. They will have to gain over 80 MPs to add to their current number of seats in the 2028 general elections if they want to secure a majority in parliament. It is a daunting task that the party has to take on. They have a responsibility to convince Ghanaians to restore their lost glory. This decision is one of the low-hanging fruits that may help bring the party together.”
He added that one of the downfalls of the NPP government, which the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) shouldn’t repeat, is silencing dissenting voices.
“As a government, you may not get everything right. So, when you make mistakes and your party members recognise them and want to speak about them and criticise the government, allow them to do so. Party members of the previous NPP government who had the courage to write about their own government were perceived as enemies of the party and government. Meanwhile, these individuals were the saviours of the party because they were speaking truth to power. Those who cautioned the party about the destruction the former President Akufo-Addo was causing the party should have been cherished, but instead, they were vilified and harassed. So, the NDC should, to some extent, allow dissenting voices to exist because that would be a way to draw the attention of the President and his appointees to their mistakes.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
