BY Daniel Bampoe
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken a decisive stance in the escalating debate over voting rights for its members abroad, formally ruling out proxy voting in the upcoming 2026 presidential primaries despite weeks of pressure, petitions, and internal agitation from diaspora executives and constituency executives schooling abroad.
The announcement, delivered on Thursday, November 20, 2025, by the Chairman of the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC), Joe Osei Owusu, brings to a head a controversy that has been simmering lately when the party first issued guidelines barring proxy voting for the primaries.
The ban immediately triggered dissatisfaction within sections of the party’s international branches—particularly among constituency executives studying or working overseas—who insist the restriction contradicts both the NPP’s constitution and its long-standing tradition of accommodating its global membership.
Petition
The tension traces back to a petition submitted to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and copied to the PEC, in which dozens of diaspora members demanded the reinstatement of proxy voting.
Their argument rested on Article 25(1)(b) of the NPP Constitution, which explicitly allows a registered voter “absent from the constituency and unable to vote on polling day” to apply for a proxy.
Petitioners said the decision to enforce an outright ban was “a clear act of unconstitutional disenfranchisement.”
Some petitioners went further, threatening legal action should the party fail to reverse the directive. They claimed the ban would force members abroad to spend “hundreds or thousands of dollars” on travel for a single ballot—funds they argue could be redirected to grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2026 general election.
The internal pushback prompted the PEC to invite all presidential aspirants and senior party officials to a high-stakes meeting at the NPP headquarters yesterday, November 20, 2025, to deliberate on the matter.
The invitation, signed by PEC Secretary William Yamoah, underscored the sensitivity and potential implications of the ongoing dispute.
Committee Holds Its Ground
Speaking after the meeting, Chairman Joe Osei Owusu confirmed that the committee had reviewed all petitions and submissions but decided to maintain the ban to safeguard the integrity of the election.
“We’ve read the petitions presented by sections of the party, and after listening to all that, we came to the conclusion that for the sake of conducting an election that is incident-free and credible, that provision should be maintained,” he stated firmly.
“We will still not have proxy voting in the 2026 presidential primaries.”
According to the PEC, allowing proxy voting in a contest as competitive as the NPP primaries could open the door to logistical complications, administrative disputes, and challenges that could threaten the credibility of the final outcome. Officials point to past internal elections—in both the NPP and other major parties—where disputes over delegate accreditation and voting procedures led to court injunctions and prolonged tensions.
Growing Discontent Within Campaign Teams
Despite the ruling, frustration continues to simmer within factions aligned to some presidential aspirants.
Campaign strategists whisper that the decision could disadvantage candidates with strong support bases outside Ghana, while others fear backlash from financially influential diaspora contributors who feel sidelined.
Insiders describe the atmosphere within some camp headquarters as “uneasy,” with concerns that the committee’s ruling might intensify internal fractures at a time when the party is attempting to project unity ahead of the next general election.
Political analysts say the PEC’s insistence on in-person voting signals the party’s determination to avoid a repeat of past election-day disputes.
The NPP has historically struggled to balance its rapidly expanding international membership with the realities of managing large-scale internal elections.
Going Forward
With the PEC’s ruling now final for the 2026 cycle, diaspora members who had threatened legal action must decide whether to proceed to court or accept the committee’s decision in the interest of party cohesion.
For now, the NPP leadership is betting on its ability to keep the party united despite the discontent.
What remains clear is that the debate over diaspora participation has exposed deeper questions about internal democracy, inclusion, and the future direction of the NPP as it gears up for one of its most consequential presidential primaries in recent history.
