Renowned broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere has challenged the notion that breakaway parties or opposition groups win elections purely on merit, insisting instead that Ghanaians vote to punish governments, not reward opposition parties.
Adom-Otchere explained that voters often react to the failures of incumbents, regardless of the opposition’s internal problems.
“Ghanaians don’t really vote for opposition parties,” he said on The Big Issue on Channel One TV monitored by MyNewsGh.com.
“They vote against governments.”
He cited the 2016 general election as an example, when the NPP appeared disorganized yet secured its largest victory in the Fourth Republic.
“Every headline then was about turmoil, chairmen being removed, party divisions, yet they won big. That tells you what Ghanaians were really voting against.”
According to Adom-Otchere, this dynamic reinforces why Ghana’s duopoly remains strong, despite growing calls for a third political force.
Both the NDC and NPP, he said, function as “formidable alternatives” in the public imagination, making it nearly impossible for smaller parties to capture national attention for long.
He also faulted the media and corporate Ghana for unintentionally reinforcing the two-party dominance.
“Over the last 15 years, journalists have found NDC and NPP stories more relevant,” he noted. “Once you report one side, the other responds, and that’s how the duopoly feeds itself.”
