National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Youth Organiser and Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, has urged the party to pursue a political strategy anchored in ideas, policy, intellectual strength and democratic mobilisation rather than confrontation and intimidation.
According to him, the NDC’s forthcoming national executive elections present an opportunity for the party to reassess its political identity and determine the kind of organisation it wants to build ahead of the 2028 general elections.
Mr Opare Addo made the call in a reflection on Ghana’s political direction following the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) election of new national executives at its National Delegates Conference in Kumasi.
He congratulated the NPP on the outcome of its elections, saying the party had exercised its democratic right to choose a leadership team it believes can rebuild its structures and restore its electoral fortunes.
He, however, said the development should trigger a wider national conversation about the nature of political competition in Ghana and the kind of political culture the country wants to leave for future generations.
Mr Opare Addo said the NDC should not approach its forthcoming national executive elections simply as a contest to determine which individuals are capable of defeating the NPP.
Rather, he said delegates should consider the broader question of what kind of NDC they want to build and how the party can contribute to a healthier democratic culture.
“The choice is not simply between candidates. It is between political directions,” he said.
He urged the party to preserve and strengthen the broad political coalition that contributed to its victory in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
According to him, the NDC must avoid reverting to a style of politics dominated by personality clashes, insults, factionalism and constant confrontation.
He said the party’s future relevance would depend on its ability to offer a modern, inclusive, disciplined and intellectually confident alternative.
Reflecting on the NDC’s 2022 national executive elections, Mr Opare Addo said the election of Johnson Asiedu Nketia as National Chairman and Fifi Fiavi Kwetey as General Secretary represented more than a change in the party’s leadership.
He described it as a “political reset” aimed at repositioning the party and broadening its appeal beyond its traditional support base.
He said the NDC recognised the need to engage a wider section of the Ghanaian population, including the middle class, young professionals, entrepreneurs, students, organised labour, the business community and other citizens seeking alternatives to conventional partisan rhetoric.
Mr Opare Addo said the NDC understood that winning political power required more than mobilising its traditional supporters; it required winning the broader national argument.
He also stressed the importance of the party’s youth mobilisation strategy, arguing that young people should not merely be viewed as numbers needed to fill rallies and campaign events.
Instead, he said, they must be organised around identity, purpose and political consciousness.
Mr Opare Addo pointed to the NDC’s “Green Army” as an example of how young people could be mobilised on a large scale while maintaining a focus beyond political confrontation.
He said the initiative gave the party’s youth a distinct identity and a structured mobilisation platform.
For him, the experience demonstrated that young people could be organised around political ideas and consciousness rather than being used primarily as instruments of conflict between rival parties.
He said the next phase of the NDC’s youth strategy should build on that experience by placing greater emphasis on political education, leadership development, civic responsibility and policy engagement.
Mr Opare Addo said the NDC’s victory in the 2024 elections should not be a reason for complacency.
Instead, he said, the result should prompt the party to examine what enabled it to broaden its electoral appeal and how those gains can be sustained.
“Political victories are temporary. Political relevance is earned continuously,” he said.
He urged the party to determine whether it wanted to preserve the broad coalition that helped secure the 2024 victory or return to a more confrontational style of partisan politics.
He said the NDC’s continued relevance must be measured not only by its ability to win elections but also by its capacity to demonstrate that progressive politics can be disciplined, inclusive and responsive to the aspirations of Ghanaians.
Commenting on the NPP’s new national leadership, Mr Opare Addo said the party had chosen individuals it believed possessed the experience, political energy and organisational capacity needed to rebuild its fortunes.
The newly elected executives include John Boadu as National Chairman, Justin Kodua as General Secretary, Titus Glover as National Organiser and Abanga Fuseini as National Youth Organiser, among other national officers.
Mr Opare Addo said the NPP’s decision must be respected, but argued that it also presented an opportunity to examine the broader direction of political competition in Ghana.
He questioned whether Ghanaian politics is increasingly becoming defined by confrontation, aggressive mobilisation and political combat at the expense of ideas, intellectual persuasion and national consensus.
He stressed the need to distinguish political toughness from political violence, mobilisation from intimidation and political competition from political warfare.
“Ghana must never cross that line,” he cautioned.
Mr Opare Addo said the NDC should not respond to the NPP’s political strategy by simply adopting a similar approach.
He argued that the party must compete differently by placing ideas, organisation, policy, intellectual strength and youth empowerment at the centre of its political strategy.
“If the NPP has chosen a leadership team that it believes can fight its way back into political relevance, should the NDC respond by simply finding its own version of that political style? I say no,” he said.
He maintained that aggressive politics should not be answered with greater aggression.
Similarly, he said political intimidation should not be countered with intimidation, but with stronger democratic mobilisation.
According to him, the NDC must demonstrate that it is possible to compete fiercely in politics while remaining committed to democratic values and responsible leadership.
Mr Opare Addo also challenged political parties to rethink how they engage young people.
He questioned whether Ghanaian politics had become too focused on who could command the largest crowd, speak the loudest or intimidate political opponents.
He said young Ghanaians deserved political organisations that challenged them intellectually and leaders capable of addressing issues affecting their education, businesses, employment, aspirations and future.
Rather than teaching young people to hate political opponents, he said, political parties should inspire them with a sense of what they can achieve and the role they can play in national development.
The NDC National Youth Organiser said the future of the party’s youth wing must not be measured solely by its ability to mobilise large numbers of supporters.
He said the party should work towards developing a disciplined, knowledgeable and politically conscious generation capable of providing leadership at various levels.
“The Green Army demonstrated that young people can be mobilised at scale,” he said.
“The next challenge is to ensure that mobilisation is matched by ideas, knowledge, civic responsibility and leadership development.”
He said a strong youth wing should contribute not only to election campaigns but also to policy discussions, civic education and the development of future leaders.
As the NDC prepares for its own national executive elections, Mr Opare Addo urged delegates to consider the broader implications of their choices.
He said the key question should not simply be which candidate can defeat the NPP in 2028, but which candidates can help build an NDC capable of maintaining a broad national coalition and remaining relevant to different sections of Ghanaian society.
He said the party should seek leaders capable of engaging the middle class without abandoning the working class, while inspiring young people without turning them into instruments of political confrontation.
Such leadership, he argued, should be able to build a modern and intellectually confident organisation capable of competing fiercely while remaining responsible in government.
He nevertheless urged the NDC to use the NPP’s elections as an opportunity for serious self-reflection and to define its own political direction rather than allowing its strategy to be dictated by its main political opponent.
He said the ultimate measure of the NDC’s success should not be electoral victory alone, but its contribution to national development.
“Political victory is not the ultimate destination. Building a better Ghana is,” he said.
By 1960news.com
