Management of Political Party Membership In Ghana: A Comparative Study of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress in the 4th Republic

Abstract

The members (membership) of a political party remain the most important resource for political party organisation. Regardless of the indispensable nature of political party members, there is often limited effort aimed at managing them effectively. This scenario has led to a global surge in political- party- membership- management interventions. This current study, therefore, seeks to employ the theory of Customer Relationship Management as a basis for comparing the membership management of the two dominant political parties in Ghana (National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party) using selected constituencies in Ghana as the target population. The sample of the study was eighteen participants consisting of two participants from each of the eight constituencies and two National Officers drawn from the two parties. The study is qualitative in nature and draws on in-depth interviews in its data collection. Data was analysed qualitatively using the thematic and textual technique. The study found that both parties adhere to administrative processes in their constitution to enhance the management of their membership. Again, the study found that the NPP prioritises the use of technology than the NDC in the management of their membership. Further, the study found that the parties have no deliberate programme to provide the needed managerial, technical and human relation skills to its staff at the constituency level. The study, therefore, recommends political parties utilise technology to enhance the management of their membership and again, equip their staff with adequate managerial, technical and human relation skills. However, the study focused only on some selected strong and swing constituencies; hence its findings cannot be generalised. Future Research should, therefore, focus on other constituencies of the Ghanaian society. Finally, quantitative research may be useful in exploring other critical areas that may enhance the management of the membership of political parties.