Ghanaian actress Lydia Forson has warned the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and their supporters to be circumspect in how they react to criticism from opposition factions lest they lose the December 7 polls.
According to Ms Forson, the NPP is banking on the general perception that people are frustrated with the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and because of this, want change.
“But this assumption and the insistence that all Ghanaians should feel this way coupled with the campaign they’re running is why I believe they may probably not win the elections,” she stated.
The award-winning actress noted that the NPP was looking at the country through the eyes of the opposition, but they should understand that “your Ghana isn’t everyone else’s Ghana, meaning how you see the country isn’t the way everyone else does”, adding: “Because of this perception, they’re mistakenly campaigning against members of the ruling party and anyone else who doesn’t support this claim, instead of campaigning to them.”
The Perfect Picture actress, in a write up on her blog, noted that because of the NPP’s mindset that every Ghanaian is frustrated with government and must see Ghana through their lenses, “their following are quick to fight and attempt to silence anyone who doesn’t share in this feeling of frustration, forgetting that the whole purpose of a campaign is to appeal to voters and not bully them into voting for you”.
“Their confidence in this perception is also why the outcome may not only surprise them but create unnecessary tension if they don’t win,” she added.
Below is the full write-up:
I started writing this piece a few weeks ago but I wasn’t sure if it was worth sharing.
Before I proceed, however, it’s important I make this disclaimer.
DISCLAIMER: A lot of you are not going to like me after this post, and for those who already don’t you’re probably going to despise me more. I may lose some friends after this, but I won’t lose much sleep if I do because my real friends respect that we don’t have to always agree.
The attention and backlash I receive each time I share my opinion is enough to make anyone afraid of speaking out on issues in this country.
I guess because of the misconception that only a “chosen” few are qualified to speak on politics and national issues, people are quick to tag me a controversial attention seeker.(if only this title was something worth fighting for)
I’m a Ghanaian citizen of sound mind and a registered voter; meaning I have EVERY RIGHT to speak on issues in this country, and so should anyone who feels incline to do so, we shouldn’t to be bullied into silence because it’s our constitutional RIGHT.
When Ben Ephson, the Editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper and pollster made predictions on the elections, the brouhaha surrounding it, has encouraged me to share this piece I wrote a while back.
Now I’m no pollster, analyst or expert, and I won’t pretend to have any facts, proper research or idea of how election predictions are made.
My predictions are made on intuition and my ability to completely look beyond my sentiments and personal conviction to see what it is instead of what it should be. They’re also based on conversations I’ve had with people, things I’ve witnessed and experiences I’ve had.
If you follow my blog then you will remember how I predicted Donald Trump could be the next president of America last year in July, exactly a year later and he won the Republican ticket to be the presidential candidate and went on to also win the general elections.
I received a lot of heat for this at the time, with many friends assuming I was a Trump supporter; which wasn’t the case. I didn’t and still don’t like the man, but I understood the campaign he was running, because he had one aim only, to appeal to a target group of people so he could ultimately win the election.
And we can argue that Trump didn’t win the popular vote, but it doesn’t change the fact that MILLIONS of Americans voted for him, much to the surprise of many people especially the democrats.
And this is what the opposition should have learnt from this outcome; that a man so hated, having some of the most powerful politicians, networks, media houses etc unite against him like never in the history of America’s presidential race; still went on to win is nothing short of a miracle.
Against all pollsters, opinions polls and predictions, Donald Trump defied all odds and shocked Americans and the world at large.
If this doesn’t tell you the electorate isn’t as predictable and neither are the elections, then I don’t know what will.
Which is what many members of the opposition seem to be missing and why they may also be in for a shock.
They’re banking on the general perception that people are frustrated with the ruling party, and because of this want change, hence their campaign message.
But this assumption and the insistence that ALL Ghanaians should feel this way coupled with the campaign they’re running, is why I believe they may probably not win the elections.
They’re looking at the country through the eyes of the opposition, and this is one of the points I spoke against in my piece on understanding the Ghanaian electorate Your Ghana isn’t everyone else’s Ghana, meaning how you see the country isn’t the way everyone else does.
But because of this perception, they’re mistakenly campaigning AGAINST members of the ruling party and anyone else who doesn’t support this claim, instead of campaigning TO them.
This single mindset is why many of their following are quick to fight and attempt to silence anyone who doesn’t share in this feeling of frustration.
Forgetting that the whole purpose of a campaign is to appeal to voters and not bully them into voting for you.
Their confidence in this perception is also why the outcome may not only surprise them, but create unnecessary tension if they don’t win.
Because they’ve propped themselves and their following up for a guaranteed win, and planted the seed of doubt and a possible electoral fraud if they don’t, also very dangerous.
Notice that nearly ALL political parties accuse Electoral Commissioners of fraud if they don’t win, but are suspiciously silent if the same system declares them winners.
This is a trick employed by a lot of politicians; for instance, Trump insisted on a possible rigging, and when he won suddenly didn’t find the system to corrupt anymore.
What he didn’t anticipate was the doubt he casted on the system which created room for people to also question the legitimacy of his win.
Now it would be unfair on my part to blame all members of the opposition and it’s following for this behavior, I have very good friends in the opposition who are nothing like this, but they too agree that something’s definitely wrong if the majority of their following behaves like this.
By alienating a section of the people because their views don’t align with yours, will only make it that much easier for them to vote against your party.
I’ve had at least 3 people tell me they want a certain party to lose, only because they find someone on social media annoying.
Some Trump voters will tell you they didn’t like him, but voted for him anyway because they were willing to look past his inappropriate behavior, because of their disdain for Hillary.
And you may think it’s ridiculous for anyone to vote against a party just because of their disdain for someone, but if people voted for all the right reasons we wouldn’t have politicians sharing rice, ice and sewing machines for votes.
Elections are about nothing else but winning for the politicians, even if it means employing some of the most outrageous tactics like Trump did, by stylishly campaigning to the usually neglected people, understanding that the KKK also had votes.
EVERY VOTE counts, even that of the girl who’s voting because of someone she finds annoying; so the way your party faithful behave everywhere, including how they verbally attack people even on social media, will contribute to how people vote.
And this behavior isn’t unique to just the opposition, nearly all parties are guilty of this politics of insults, I’ve been called everything from a prostitute to a brothel by members of the NDC, however the opposition seems to be leading the pack.
A simple comparison of their reaction to even celebrity endorsements is very telling.
Celebrities and public figures who’ve endorsed the ruling party have been ridiculed, insulted, called money thirsty and all kinds of names.
Yet others who’ve endorsed the opposition haven’t received that much negative attention.
Why is that?
A few weeks ago I also witnessed an interaction on social media, where a supporter of the ruling NDC claimed that most of its members weren’t as bold to declare their position because they feared insults; a supporter of the opposition quickly responded by saying perhaps it’s because his party was a sh** one.
Imagine that?
A smart person would have ceased the moment to engage this person and if for nothing at all make him see her party beyond the aggressive tone it’s been associated with.
I’ve also had my own personal encounters with supporters of the opposition who’ve hailed me for speaking out against the ruling party, but immediately turned to attack me vehemently because I wrote in support of a decision the president had taken.
If you don’t see the state of the nation through their eyes, then there’s something wrong with you; which they have no problem expressing with choice words.
When Hillary called half of Trumps voters deplorable, she only gave people who were probably on the fence about voting for Trump another reason NOT to vote for her.
Which is exactly what a lot of people in the opposition are doing.
I still don’t understand how anyone was able to look past Trumps bigotry, inappropriate behavior and racist tendencies to vote for him.
But maybe if people, including me, hadn’t been so dismissive of them; we could have engaged and perhaps attempted to understand their position.
The silent majority does exists, and when a group of people feel silenced because of their position, they will band together to prove a point.
Now I’m not in any way likening the ruling party to Trump supporters, just drawing from their experience.
I may be wrong with my prediction, and we’ll know in a couple of days, however the backlash I may probably receive from members of the opposition because of this post will only reinforce what I’ve said.
Source: Classfmonline
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you just had your answer and it is confirmed.
what kind of fooooooooo lish tale is that, take your filthy vote away, who is she, since when, oh come on, mahe asowa nko edzi zi , ma ye dwen ye ho, wara enyim ma anyaa, me i dont even have the time to read from you, cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeew, maaaaaa chhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeee
You have said everything I wanted to say. I live in the US and so I find it ridiculous when people make comparisons between the US and Ghana's elections without a caveat that the two systems are quite different. Hillary won the popular vote by more than 2 million. Trump was adjudged the winner of the elections because of an archaic electoral college system. Again, if Lydia's argument is correct, Hillary should have won because Trump and his supporters insulted people much much more than Hillary or her supporters did. Political experts will tell you that Hillary did not lose because of insults or disdain. She lost because Americans wanted a CHANGE. Plain and simple. Trump was a complete outsider and he was different than any politician Americans had seen. So Americans were drawn to him because he was different and offered a change in how the country had been run. Finally, Lydia's overall argument make it sound like winning elections is the ultimate goal of democracy. No, the ultimate goal is for the country to develop and make the best use of its resources for the good of all people. So if anyone decides to vote against NPP because of disdain for another person on social media, let them go ahead. If an NPP supporter insults someone on Facebook, so you want to vote for NDC, go ahead. As an NPP supporter, I don't mind. Why? Because, if an incompetent party is elected, it is not only NPP supporters who suffer. If electricity tarrifs are very high, it not only NPP supporters who suffer. If unemployment is high, it is not only NPP supporters who suffer. So, if you think your disdain for vocal NPP supporters is going to harm us, think twice. The future of the country is at stake, so vote for the right reasons
is that you? your make-up changed you completely, indeed you look nice in this picture, you know yourself that this is not a true reflection of you, you know, now what are you saying? you had your share, go chop eeeeeeeeeeeh, he chop you tooooooo, ok, no wonder you have released a new car, good for you JM TOASO, hwe mbasiafo nyinaaaaa hon tunnnnnnn mu
Ghanafo wo krom, wo wo krom, ooooh, i feel sad for generations to come, is this the ghana we are leaving for them? Ghanaians, lets be truthful, honest and respectful, you see if you are truthful and honest definitely you will earn respect, if you lie, steaaaaaal, cheat or allow yourself to be used, certainly you will lose respect, mothers, ahhhhh, please respect yourselves, tell the truth and be honest, only this will help mother ghana, abaaaaa, oh noooooo,
are you in that dirtty country called mahama-ammisah arthur ghana? do you listen to idioooooooooooo t like omane boama? kofi tunnnnnnnnnnumu adams? look them and their theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefs talking and writing rubbish in here, clear off with your dirty hands full of stolen monies and blood, very soon you will vomit from your annnnnnnn us, you pretend in here and everywhere, that is why you are where you are, so dont you see MAHAMA ROOOOOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBBBBBBBIN GHANA? CANT YOU SEE? IF YOU CANT SEE CANT YOU HEAR? did you seeeeeeeee him steeeeeeeeeeeeeal our monies and gave to akua donkor, have you seen him just given the thiiiiiiiii f lydia toooooo, that is all they are doing, excuse us, you can keep your wishes to yourselves, it isnt your wishes that will make any difference, whether you wish or not CHANGE IS COMING,
I certainly do not support the current government and my harbor bad thoughts about those who do but you have a point, and the level-headed opposition supporters will view this as food for thought. Better ate than never, so i hope the opposition folks take this on board. but Lydia if you have not made up your mind yet, don't let a few hare-brained ones convince you to sit on the offence and be cursing your stars if there's such a thing as a Truump like winner in Ghana. Hillary had 2 million more votes than Truump, anywhere else Hillary is the President-elect, but that's what a 47% turnout rate will get you. I am sure you know when you put yourself out there like you have, you should expect to be liked or disliked, but that should not keep you from doing the right thing for tottering Ghana.
the issue here is you should be truthful, you should be factual, not be a thie ef telling ghanaians what to do
A Good piece. But a couple of things: 1. The American voter is totally different from the Ghanaian voter for good and bad reasons. 2. Hillary was not the incumbent in the race. 3. If anything at all the Yanks voted for a change in the direction of the country despite the visible improvement in unemployment rate and high stock rates. 4. Oppositions parties especially in our part of the world are always aggressive in their campaign with the fear of incumbent rigging the election. 5. Again trying to compare Hillary's deplorable comment to any comment made by Nana is neither here or there. Nana has rather been accused of begging voters to elect him. 6. With reference to polls, every party has attacked any poll that does not favour their candidate unless Lydia only woke up to find Ben's poll. Please check what Kofi adams and Koku said about EIU, UG etc polls. 7. Finally, i like the writer's preemptive assumption she will be attacked for this piece. No you wont be attacked. Its your opinion and you only have one vote that's the reality. Let the Good people of Gh decide for themselves.
so when they sleep with you and give you the cars they ask you to talk or what? her, so it is true, i see, do you remember kaaki? so it was true when it was rumored by her recently that Ibrahim gave you 150 000 ghana cedis and a pajero, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeei, so your new car is from ibrahim oooooooooooow, i only pray you dont get involved in an accident,