The Executive Director of the Africa Governance Centre, Prof Nelson Oppong, has entreated political parties in Africa to look beyond winning elections and to focus more on building the nations in which they exist.

Dr Nelson made the remarks while addressing the opening session of the ongoing African Political Parties Summit 2025 earlier today at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The summit, which is being organised for the first time, has seen a convergence of all major political parties within the African continent, the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America.

Prof Nelson intimated that, "political parties are not only about winning elections, they are about building nations. We must turn poverty from a persistent challenge into an opportunity for health, prosperity and shared development".

He called for inclusivity in Governance by moving away from restricting political participation to the political class, but instead, recognising the everyday African as the foundation of political action.

Over the next few days, political leaders will be brainstorming and developing ideas on viable alternatives to advancing the progress and development of Africa in order to position the continent to address the challenges of its people.