African parties must prepare to govern, not just win elections — Asiedu Nketiah

Political parties across Africa must move beyond the pursuit of electoral victories and build the institutional strength and expertise needed to govern effectively, the new Chairman of the African Political Parties Initiative (APPI), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has said.

He said the quality of governance on the continent depended significantly on the strength of political parties, insisting that the preparation for public office must begin long before politicians secure electoral mandates.

Mr Asiedu Nketiah made the call while addressing the inaugural leadership of APPI at the close of the African Political Parties Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He said parties must invest in policy research, develop institutional memory and nurture professionals capable of providing sound advice on the complex issues confronting their countries.

According to him, political parties are not simply platforms for contesting elections but institutions that shape the people, values and practices that eventually find their way into government.

He warned that a party's internal culture could have far-reaching consequences for the state, particularly when its members assume positions of authority.

“Political experience teaches us that power changes hands more quickly than nations change. Those who govern today may sit in opposition tomorrow, and those in opposition may later inherit the institutions they once criticised. A political party is not merely an organisation for winning elections. It is one of the places in which future government is formed,” he said.

Mr Asiedu Nketiah said political parties must therefore develop a clear understanding of the economies and public institutions they seek to manage.

He identified industry, agriculture, trade, energy, technology and public finance as areas in which parties needed to build and retain specialist knowledge to support policy formulation and implementation.

He also called for the establishment and strengthening of policy institutions that could preserve knowledge and experience beyond the tenure of individual leaders.

Such institutions, he said, would help parties avoid repeatedly starting from scratch whenever leadership changed, while ensuring that decisions taken in government were informed by evidence and technical expertise.

“Electoral victory gives authority. The ability to govern well has to be built before victory comes,” he stressed.

The APPI chairman further urged African political parties to demonstrate maturity during transitions of power, cautioning against the wholesale abandonment of policies, expertise and institutions simply because a new administration had taken office.

He said political competition should not prevent parties from recognising and preserving initiatives that served the national interest.

“Political maturity includes the ability to know what must change and what must be preserved. There is no virtue in wasting what works,” he said.

Mr Asiedu Nketiah's remarks place emphasis on the responsibility of political parties to prepare their members for the demands of public administration and to ensure that changes in political leadership do not undermine institutional development.