Intra-Party Conflicts And The Prospects Of Democratic Consolidation In Ghana’s Fourth Republic: A Comparative Study Of The New Patriotic Party (NPP) And The National Democratic Congress (NDC)

Abstract

Political parties are vital instruments in the practice of modern representative democracy. As such, their relevance in ensuring stability and promoting democratic consolidation cannot be overemphasized. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) have dominated Ghana’s political scene since the return to multi-party democracy in 1992. They have made significant strides in the area of political education, mobilization, and deliberations on issues of national importance. Nonetheless, their internal activities leave much to be desired. Some of these activities violate basic democratic principles and have resulted in outcomes that are incongruous with democratic consolidation. Noticeably, internal party feuds have become a common feature of party politics in Ghana. These crises have contributed to the unhealthy internal relations and by extension have affected their effective functioning and inter-party relations. The study sought to identify the factors that account for internal conflicts in the NPP and NDC and how these developments affect the consolidation of Ghana’s democracy. Due to the qualitative nature of the study, the purposive non-probability sampling method was adopted in the selection of respondents. Primary data were obtained from Academics, Civil Society Organisations and Journalists through semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study revealed that struggle for power, lack of internal democracy, ethnicity, factionalism, imposition of candidates, paucity of ideology, god-fatherism and favouritism are the causes of conflicts in the two leading political parties. Additionally, the study identified ignorance of party laws, high mistrust among factions and lack of confidence in internal conflict resolution mechanisms as the obstacles that hinder the effective resolution of conflicts in the NPP and NDC. It is recommended in this study among others that, these challenges and constraints need to be surmounted in order to bolster our democratic gains. Also, political parties must promote attitudes and values that are germane to the process of democratic consolidation.