The proposals have elicited a range of responses from party members, reflecting both support and dissent within the party’s grassroots and leadership.
The National Executive Council (NEC) and the National Council of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in a statement dated June 18, 2025, announced a set of proposed reforms aimed at restructuring aspects of the party’s internal electoral processes.
The key proposals are as follows:
- The party’s Presidential Primaries are scheduled to take place on December 6, 2025.
- The number of Polling Station Executives is proposed to be increased from five (5) to seven (7).
- The current Electoral Area Coordinator position is proposed to be replaced by an Electoral Area Executive Committee composed of five (5) members, chaired by a Coordinator.
- All former Presidential Candidates (since 2001 and currently living) will be granted voting rights.
- All former Municipal/District Chief Executives (MCEs/DCEs) (since 2001 and currently living) will also be granted voting rights.
- Similarly, all former Constituency and Regional Officers (since 2001 and currently living) will be enfranchised.
- All other internal elections, aside from the Presidential Primaries, are proposed to be postponed to the following year.
The communiqué clarified that these proposals remain subject to ratification by the National Annual Delegates Conference, scheduled for next month.
As is typical in intra-party democratic deliberations, the proposals have elicited a range of responses from party members, reflecting both support and dissent within the party’s grassroots and leadership.
Below are two illustrative examples of divergent viewpoints:
*Mr. Boakye Agyarko, NPP Flagbearer Hopeful
STATEMENT ON THE SEQUENCE OF NPP INTERNAL ELECTIONS: A CALL FOR SANITY AND STRATEGIC ORDER
I have followed with keen interest—and deep concern—the outcome of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Tuesday, 17th June 2025, in Accra, where it was announced that the party will hold polling station executive elections on 6th December 2025, followed by the flagbearer election on 31st January 2026, while deferring elections for electoral area coordinators, constituency, regional, and national executives to dates yet to be announced.
Let me state without mincing words: this decision is strategically unsound, politically indefensible, and organizationally reckless.
Will You Roof a Building Before Laying the Foundation?
What manner of political logic is this? Where in any world—be it politics, construction, or common sense—do you install a roof before laying a foundation?
How does a serious political party plan to elect a presidential candidate before renewing or replacing the very party structures—coordinators, constituency executives, regional and national officers—that are meant to support and drive that candidate’s campaign?
It is a recipe for confusion, conflict, and collapse.
Hard Questions for NEC:
I respectfully challenge the NEC to answer the following hard but necessary questions:
- What compelling reason justifies this reversed order of elections?
- Which elected officers will coordinate the flagbearer election when the party’s middle and upper structural organs remain unchanged?
- How will the flagbearer campaign be owned and supported by structures that may be outdated, inactive, or unrepresentative of current grassroots sentiment?
- Are we attempting to compromise the democratic will of our base in favour of elite convenience?
- What message are we sending to party faithful and the Ghanaian electorate about our internal coherence and readiness for 2028?
- Is this not a deliberate attempt to tilt the playing field, lock in vested interests, and stifle genuine competition?
A Dangerous Departure from Logic and Tradition
The NPP has always prided itself on order, process, and bottom-up empowerment. The grassroots—the polling station executives, electoral area coordinators, and constituency officers—are the heart of this party. We build from the ground up, not from the top down.
This sudden reversal of procedure is alien to our political culture and global democratic norms. It must be said plainly: this is political opportunism masquerading as strategy.
If we truly intend to win power in 2028, we must not start the journey with internal confusion and illogical sequencing.
A Clarion Call to Correct Course
I call on the NEC, and all well-meaning stakeholders of the NPP, to immediately revisit and reverse this timeline. Let us conduct the executive elections from polling stations upward in sequence—and only then, after our structures are legitimately in place, proceed to elect our flagbearer.
This is not just a matter of fairness—it is a matter of electoral viability and party survival. The current roadmap is a strategic suicide note. Let us not sign it.
We owe it to the party. We owe it to our history. And above all, we owe it to Ghana.
Let’s lay the foundation before we raise the flag.
Signed
Boakye Agyarko
NPP Flagbearer Hopeful
18th June 2025
*Kwesi Botchway Jnr Esq (a respected and committed NPP member)
MY TAKE ON THE TOP-DOWN APPROACH
John Mahama as candidate prior to 2024 elections toured the entire country four times as Defacto Flagbearer of the NDC. Almost every three months from 2021 – 2024 he organsied public forums as the main opposition leader to discuss his ideas and vision.
DMB as Flagbearer toured the country once. Because he was elected Flagbearer on or after 3rd November 2023. He only had 52 weeks to Campaign. Within that period, he had to reconcile with party members who were disgruntled as a result of the primaries, form a campaign team, constitute a manifesto committee, launch his manifesto, engage party leaders and stakeholders, structure and draw a campaign plan, implement his campaign strategy and ultimately visit 276 constituencies in 365 days to share his vision.
In furtherance of the above, it is important to appreciate that, as at November 2023, DMB was Flagbearer for the first time whereas his major competitor John Mahama was Flagbearer for the fourth conservative time. Clearly in terms of Flagbearer popularity and market competitiveness JM was ahead of DMB.
I dare submit that, the Top – Down approach will provide our Flagbearer the opportunity to hold the Government accountable and most importantly afford him the time to consistently engage and highlight his vision.
Finally, until NPP elects a leader, the indiscipline, indiscretion and denigration we are all worried about will never end. Elect a Flagbearer today and all the insults will cease!
Story: Lawal Mohammed
