Top Ghanaian journalist, Paul Adom-Otchere, says attempts by some National Democratic Congress (NDC) strategists to control the party’s future leadership choices are bound to fail in today’s political environment.
According to him, political succession in Ghana has evolved beyond the era when party elders could handpick a candidate, noting that the democratic culture now demands open competition and internal contest.
Adom-Otchere made the remarks on Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, while responding to NDC stalwart Ato Ahwoi, who recently criticised ongoing media discussions about possible successors to John Dramani Mahama.
The veteran broadcaster said while he respects Ato Ahwoi’s concerns, his approach mirrors a playbook that worked decades ago under different political conditions.
“The Ato Ahwoi strategy won’t work in today’s Ghana,” Adom-Otchere said. “Democracy has gone too far. You can no longer sit in a corner and decide who becomes leader of a political party.”
He explained that internal party dynamics in the Fourth Republic have changed significantly, pointing to how both major parties, the NPP and the NDC, have increasingly relied on congresses and primaries to select leaders.
“Look at what has happened to the NPP,” he said. “They’ve gone through several leadership contests – Kufuor, Akufo-Addo, Alan, Bawumia – and the people have become used to open, transparent competition. Ghanaians will not accept anything less.”
Adom-Otchere argued that efforts by NDC stalwarts like Ato Ahwoi and others to quiet public conversation about post-Mahama leadership reflect an outdated mindset.
“This idea that anyone who talks about succession is trying to cause confusion is a relic of the 1990s,” he said. “The country has moved on. People have the right to analyse, debate, and even speculate – that’s part of democracy.”
He drew a parallel with the late 1990s, when the NDC leadership, led by the Ahwoi brothers and other party elders, orchestrated the famous Swedru Declaration that positioned John Evans Atta Mills as Jerry Rawlings’ chosen successor.
“That worked then because the NDC was still transitioning from a revolutionary culture to a democratic one,” Adom-Otchere explained.
“But today’s NDC is not the same. You have a generation of delegates and activists who believe in open process, not coronation.”
He said while figures like Ato Ahwoi may genuinely be seeking party unity, suppressing internal debate could backfire.
“It’s impossible to suppress a natural democratic process,” he said.
“If you try to avoid open discussion, people will still talk – only this time, they’ll do it underground. That’s how you breed suspicion and division.”
Adom-Otchere called on the NDC to embrace transparency if it hopes to strengthen its democratic credentials and attract younger voters.
“The Ato Ahwoi strategy may have worked in 1998, but not in 2025,” he said.
“Democracy thrives on openness. The conversation about leadership succession is not disloyalty. it’s democracy at work.”
