National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has cautioned political parties against relying on historical loyalty and ideological traditions to maintain public support, urging them to rebuild trust by responding to the changing needs of citizens.
He said political parties that failed to recognise changing social and economic realities risked losing the confidence and support on which their relevance depended.
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah made the remarks at the inaugural Inter-Continental Dialogue on Political Parties in Seoul, South Korea, where he addressed participants on behalf of political parties involved in the African Political Parties Initiative (APPI).
The event brought together the Africa Governance Centre (AGC), through APPI, the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), and the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPPAL).
Asiedu Nketiah said political organisations could no longer assume that historical identities, ideological traditions or generational loyalties would automatically translate into continued public support.
He explained that while a party’s history could provide context for its position in national life, it could not guarantee its future.
According to him, each generation encounters politics under different economic and social circumstances and therefore assesses political institutions based on how relevant they are to the society it wants to build.
He noted that the expectations of citizens, particularly young people, were becoming increasingly demanding as access to information exposed them to political and economic developments beyond their own countries.
Economic hardship and public trust
The NDC Chairman linked declining confidence in political institutions to the everyday economic experiences of citizens.
He said young people were increasingly confronted with challenges including unemployment, economic insecurity, rising living costs and uncertainty over whether education and hard work could still provide a reliable pathway to improved living standards.
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah said frustration could intensify when citizens fulfilled their responsibilities by working, obeying the law, raising families and making sacrifices for their children but remained unable to see a realistic prospect of a better future.
He argued that such frustrations could extend beyond dissatisfaction with particular government policies and develop into broader scepticism about political institutions.
He consequently urged political leaders to treat growing public dissatisfaction as an institutional warning rather than dismissing it as temporary discontent.
He said political parties must strengthen leadership development, adapt to changing societies and deliberately work to restore public confidence if they are to remain relevant in an increasingly demanding political environment.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
