The congress that was

By Kofi Akordor
IT was very beautiful seeing former President J.J. Rawlings raise the hands of President John Evans Atta Mills after the verdict of the delegates had given the latter a massive approval to lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to Election 2012. That symbolic gesture has its psychological and soothing effects which the party can build on.
The post-election speech delivered by President Mills was quite reconciliatory and accommodating and reached out to all factions to mend fences, something which is very necessary at this critical moment.
It was unfortunate Mrs Konadu Agyeman Rawlings could not deliver any post-election speech, as should have been the case. Instead of taking it as a snub, people should understand and appreciate her situation. Not many people can stand defeat, more so when it is unexpectedly overwhelming. But it also means that to be a leader and aspire to be the president of this country require no faint heart.
It is too early yet, but many expect that Nana Konadu and her supporters will take a few days to lick their wounds in silence, after which they will bounce back into mainstream politics. There should be no acrimonious statements, no insinuations nor victory parties.
To some of us watching from the fringes, the congress was a good exercise. The attempts to discourage Nana Konadu could not have solved the problem, since there would have been some lingering doubts to impede President Mills and undermine the authority of his presidency. Those doubts are gone forever.
It is, therefore, important that he takes the few months ahead of him to focus seriously on governance, so that he can gather the moral strength to appeal to Ghanaians to give him another chance.
Life is all about learning and there are many lessons to be learnt from the Sunyani congress. There is always a difference between what people say and what they do. There are always the cheerleaders and the praise singers, as against the pragmatists and realists. Sometimes the two merge, but very often they take different routes.
The truth is that removing an incumbent, even in a general election, is a Herculean task. That is why it has become an unwritten law that parties support their presidents to complete their full terms if the electorate so wish.
The NDC was not going to be the first party to go for a challenge on the incumbent. During the Kufuor administration, there were some feeble voices calling for a congress to endorse or change the President as part of democratic norms. Those voices of dissent were quickly suppressed.
The NDC can, therefore, console itself that it has opened up to voices of dissent and allowed its democratic ramifications to take its full course.
What the leadership must do now is quickly start a healing process. Pretending everything is okay can be hypocritical and dangerous. The things that were said and done during the campaign cannot be swept under the carpet easily.
Former President Rawlings played a key role in the whole exercise and he has a bigger role to play to bring affairs within the party back to normalcy. He started very well by raising President Mills’s hand in victory. He must continue on that path.
The former President should realise by now that public condemnation of President Mills may affect the government generally but will not make things better for him as founder and former president, as the results of the Sunyani congress have shown. That is why it will be better for him to play a statesman and elder opinion leader’s role than that of an opposition leader. There are still many who have great respect and admiration for him across the political divide and it is to his advantage to do everything to sustain that image.
It is good the congress itself went on without incident and that should be a starting point for any internal healing process. Democracy is not only about choosing leaders but also choosing people who can meet the aspirations of our people. Sunyani is another monumental bridge crossed in the country’s journey to true democracy.

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