The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is set to adopt a different approach for the upcoming December elections, focusing on personal engagement rather than large rallies. National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah announced this strategic shift ahead of the party’s official campaign launch in Tamale on Saturday, July 27.
In an interview with Citi News, Asiedu Nketiah emphasized the importance of direct voter interaction. “We want to reach out to the people, house-to-house campaign, retail campaign, that is where the emphasis is going to be. What we’re going to do in Tamale is to remind our people that this year, the campaign will be different. We must touch base with the people,” he explained.
He further noted the cost-effectiveness of this approach, stating, “It is cheaper for party functionaries to reach out to the people in the villages than to bring their people to a collation point to address them.”
Asiedu Nketiah also addressed comments regarding the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, known as NAPO. In a previous interview, he criticized Napo’s portrayal as a royal, arguing that Akan inheritance is matrilineal, and therefore, Napo is not a true royal despite his grandfather, Prempeh, having been an Asantehene.
“Where he [Napo] and his supporters have placed his campaign is wrong because we in the NDC believe in equality under the constitution, so we don’t care what region our president or running mate will be coming from, whether from a royal family or not, so long as he satisfies the constitutional requirement of being a Ghanaian,” Nketiah stated.
He condemned the NPP’s strategy of leveraging Napo’s royal lineage as a campaign tool, reiterating that the NDC prioritizes constitutional qualifications over heritage in selecting their leaders. “But Napo and his supporters appear to be pitching their campaign and asking people to vote for him because he comes from a royal family. In Akan, inheritance is matrilineal, not patrilineal, so Napo is not a true royal,” he emphasized.
As the NDC gears up for the elections, their new campaign strategy reflects a commitment to grassroots engagement, aiming to connect with voters on a personal level and emphasize the party’s values of equality and constitutional adherence.