A Senior Research Fellow at Kumasi Technical University, Dr. Smart Sarpong, has refuted assertions by some factions in Ghana that the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) is the third force in the country’s political landscape.
He explains that for any political party to become the third force behind the two leading parties, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party(NPP), it must be able to amass at least 5 percent of votes in national elections.
Speaking in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Monday, the political scientist added that the only political party that has come close to being the third force in Ghana’s political space is the Peoples’ National Congress (PNC) under the late former President Dr. Hila Liman.
“Apart from Dr. Liman in 1992, who provided a third force on the ticket of PNC, there hasn’t been any third force in the republic. The last Nkrumahist to have provided a third force was Dr. Hila Liman.
“Third force is not merely placing 3rd in any election we hold with any count of votes or any percentage of votes. You need to do at least 5 percent or more of the votes that will be counted and Dr. Hila Liman did 6.7 percent.
“As for CPP, it has never been the third force, let us put that on record. After His Excellency Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, CPP has virtually disappeared. All through the years coming down to the recent election, you and I know that we do not have a 3rd force,” he said.
“Nobody should think that a third force is just coming and getting something and placing 3rd. You need to work and enter into the plus 5 percent mode, then Ghanaians will feel that you have organized yourself a little and you need a little push,” he reiterated.