United Party can’t break NPP-NDC duopoly – Dr Asah Asante

Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Political Science Department, Dr Kwame Asah Asante, has cast doubt on the ability of Alan Kyerematen’s newly formed United Party (UP) to make any significant impact on Ghana’s political landscape.

Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story on Thursday, October 16, Dr Asante said that while the new party may have good intentions, history shows that Ghana’s political system has long been dominated by two main political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“As for the duopoly, they cannot do much in that area to break it,” he said.

“If we look at the political history of this country, it was founded on a two-party system from 1951 up to date. All the parties we’ve had are just born out of these two dominant traditions.”

According to Dr Asante, any other political movement that has emerged over the years has struggled to gain traction because the political culture and voter loyalty remain deeply entrenched in the two major parties.

“Any other party has been eclipsed by these dominant parties. I have no doubt about that,” he added.

“What the new party, the UP, wants to do, they can profess it and say very good things about it. But as to whether they will be able to wrestle power from the dominant political parties, I know it’s an impossible adventure.”

Dr Asante’s comments come after Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, founder of the Movement for Change, officially rebranded his group into a political party known as the United Party, signaling his intent to contest the 2028 general elections outside the NPP fold.