The Executive Director of the African Centre for ary Affairs (ACEPA), Rasheed Draman, has highlighted the significant challenge of holding a supermajority government accountable, emphasizing the crucial role of public support in ensuring effective opposition.
In an interview on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Draman expressed concerns about the current dynamics in and the opposition's ability to fulfill its mandate. "This supermajority-holding it to account-is going to be very difficult, but not an impossible task," Draman noted, referencing the overwhelming parliamentary majority held by the ruling government.
He underscored that citizen engagement is key to bridging the gap between the opposition's limited power and the majority's dominance. "In situations like this, the only way you can hold the government to account is if you have the support of citizens, because massive public backing for the opposition will be what enables them to hold the government to account," he explained.
However, Draman warned that the opposition risks losing public support if it fails to demonstrate strong and focused leadership. "If, already, what we are hearing from the streets is that things are going wrong, the NPP risks losing the massive support they could have gained from the citizenry," he said, referring to public sentiments about the opposition's recent performance.
