Asiedu Nketiah to African Parties: Stop Chasing Votes and Start Learning to Govern

Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the newly elected Chairman of the African Political Parties Initiative (APPI), has delivered a pointed message to political parties across the continent: winning elections is not enough. Speaking at the close of the African Political Parties Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the veteran Ghanaian politician argued that the quality of governance Africa produces depends directly on how seriously parties invest in preparing themselves to actually run countries — not merely to campaign for the right to do so.

Parties as nurseries of government, not just electoral machines

Asiedu Nketiah, who served as General Secretary of Ghana's National Democratic Congress (NDC) for many years before his election to lead APPI, told the inaugural leadership of the body that political parties are far more than vote-winning organisations. He described them as the institutions through which future governments are effectively formed — shaping the people, values and working cultures that eventually enter public office.

He stressed that this responsibility demands concrete action: parties must fund policy research units, build institutional memory, and actively develop professionals who can provide technically sound advice on complex national challenges. He singled out industry, agriculture, trade, energy, technology and public finance as priority areas where specialist knowledge must be cultivated and retained over time.

"Electoral victory gives authority. The ability to govern well has to be built before victory comes," he told delegates, in what was one of the summit's most direct challenges to the status quo of party politics on the continent.

He also warned that the internal culture of a political party can have consequences far beyond its own structures — especially once its members assume positions of state authority. A party that tolerates poor organisation, weak accountability or the dismissal of technical expertise, he suggested, will likely reproduce those same failings in government.

Why it matters for Ghana

Asiedu Nketiah's remarks carry particular resonance in Ghana, where the country has repeatedly witnessed transitions of power that sometimes lead to abrupt reversals of policies, the displacement of technocrats, and the loss of institutional knowledge built up under previous administrations. The concern is not unique to any single party — it has been a recurring feature of governance across political divides.

Ghana returned to power a new government following the December 2024 elections, and debates about continuity versus change in public institutions have already surfaced in various sectors. Asiedu Nketiah's call for political maturity during transitions — recognising what works and preserving it regardless of which party introduced it — speaks directly to a challenge Ghanaians know well.

"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, in remarks that could serve as a guiding principle for any administration navigating the pressures of partisan politics while trying to deliver development.

A call for lasting party institutions

Beyond individual leaders and election cycles, Asiedu Nketiah called for the establishment of durable policy institutions within political parties — think-tanks, research arms and knowledge repositories that survive changes in party leadership. The goal, he explained, is to prevent parties from perpetually starting from scratch whenever a new generation of leaders takes over.

He acknowledged the political reality that power changes hands rapidly, while national transformation takes far longer. "Those who govern today may sit in opposition tomorrow, and those in opposition may later inherit the institutions they once criticised," he said, urging parties to treat governance preparation as a long-term, continuous project rather than a last-minute exercise ahead of polls.

As chairman of APPI — a continental body bringing together political parties to share experience and strengthen democratic practice — Asiedu Nketiah is now positioned to push this agenda across Africa. Whether the message translates into structural change within parties, in Ghana and beyond, remains the real test.