Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, a Senior Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, expressed scepticism about the possibility of any third force, including Alan Kyerematen's independent movement, winning the December 2024 elections in Ghana.
Dr Asah-Asante, speaking on JoyNews' PM Express, highlighted the challenges of introducing a third force in a two-party system.
He argued, “In other jurisdictions, when you have two strong parties, that is a two-party system, you realize that other parties have been dwarfed. It will take a very long time for you to get a third force.”
Responding to the question of whether December 2024 was the right time for Ghana to witness a third force, he firmly stated, “No, it is not.”
He explained that the emergence of a third force is typically associated with proportional representation systems, citing examples from countries like Germany, Israel, and Belgium.
In the case of Ghana, he emphasized that until the electoral system changes, the two main parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), will continue to dominate.
Dr. Asah-Asante acknowledged that movements like Alan Kyerematen's could garner significant votes and potentially push elections into a second round.
However, he dismissed the idea of an individual crossing the threshold of 50% and beyond for an outright victory.
“What he [Alan Kyerematen] knows is that he can be a kingmaker by pushing the election to a second round where all those who are launching attacks against him that he's not a candidate for this election and all that will go to him on their knees, that's all that he's fighting for. But for winning, he knows that it will not work,” Dr. Asah-Asante concluded.
Regarding the ability of Kyerematen to push the election into a second round, the Political Science lecturer mentioned that it was too early to make such a prediction.