We are discerning to know if your opponent copies your policies – Gyampo on NPP, NDC delay in launching manifestoes

Professor Ransford Gyampo of the University of Ghana has asked the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to discard the idea of their manifestos being copied and present them ahead of time.

He says the parties should present their policies to Ghanaians with few months to the election so that people can scrutinise them to make informed decisions.

The practice, which the Professor has observed since 2016, he says, is not helping the nation’s democracy and rather retrogressing it.

Giving his preliminary comments on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, June 29, 2024, the President of the University of Ghana chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) explained that Ghanaians are discerning enough to know an originator and imitator of an idea.

“It is not about being scared that when you outdoor your manifesto someone will copy. If you bring the manifesto promises and people are copying, we are discerning enough to know who initiated what and who is copying what. So I call on them to treat Ghanaians with some respect and the practice of waiting till the dying minutes of elections before outdooring their manifesto is unacceptable,” he stated.

Prof. Gyampo lambasted the two political parties for the delay in presenting their policy blueprint which he says didn’t use to be like that prior to the 2016 elections.

“It is just about five months to elections and the key political parties have not been able to let us know what they stand for –their manifesto, proper blueprint that will serve to guide the conduct of their party rallies and campaign. They don’t have manifestos and so I’m disappointed. We are retrogressing every election season. It didn’t use to be the case that we have just about five months to elections and parties are not outdooring their manifesto blueprints. It is absolutely unacceptable,” he stated.

“It started in the 2016 and 2020 elections. But it didn’t use to be like that so political elites should take us a bit more seriously. We want to read what they stand for,” he added.