Ghanaian lawyer and academic Tsatsu Tsikata has stated that the decisive defeat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general elections demonstrates that the founding ideals of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) continue to resonate strongly with the Ghanaian people.
Speaking at a birthday lecture held in honour of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, founder of the NDC, Mr Tsikata reflected on the party’s history under the theme, “From Revolution to Fourth Republic: The Rawlings Legacy.”
According to him, the outcome of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections serves as a clear indication that Ghanaians still value the principles upon which the NDC was established and expect the party to remain faithful to those ideals while in government.
“The decisive rejection of the NPP in the December 2024 elections, both in the presidential and the parliamentary elections, is decisive proof that the ideals for which the NDC was founded, and which we still hold dear, these ideals matter to the people of Ghana,” he said.
Despite the party’s electoral success, Mr Tsikata cautioned the NDC against complacency and urged its leadership, members and government appointees to use the occasion of the commemoration to reflect critically on the party’s future direction and its long-term contribution to national development.
“I want to insist from the onset that the NDC must use this commemoration to reflect on its future, its message, and its value proposition. What does the NDC have to offer to the nation, to the world at large, now and into the distant future?” he asked.
Mr Tsikata warned that there is a risk of lowering expectations after years of public dissatisfaction with the previous administration.
“There is a danger, especially after what the country went through in the disastrous 2017 to 2024 period under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. There is a danger that we lower the bar of what the nation expects of us in the NDC, and that we aim to be just a little better than the previous government,” he stated.
He argued that public officials appointed under the current administration should not measure their performance solely against that of their predecessors.
“Appointees would only seek to compare themselves to their predecessors, and by that measure, be content with some improvement in performance, and therefore become complacent,” he said.
According to Mr Tsikata, such an approach would undermine public expectations and betray the values that have guided the NDC since its formation.
“May I say without hesitation that this would be both an affront to the people of Ghana, as well as an affront to the illustrious traditions of the NDC,” he said.
He concluded by stressing the importance of good governance, accountability and integrity in public office.
“Accountability matters. Standing resolutely against corruption matters,” he added.
