By Daniel Bampoe
A storm is gathering within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) following what critics describe as a “strategically flawed” decision by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to hold its presidential primaries on January 31, 2026 — ahead of elections for constituency, regional, and national executives.
The announcement has sparked outrage among key presidential hopefuls, particularly Kennedy Agyapong and Boakye Agyarko, whose supporters see the move as a top-down attempt to skew the race in favour of former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
At the heart of the dispute is the decision to elect the party’s 2028 flagbearer before restructuring or renewing the very grassroots and mid-level party organs that are expected to drive that campaign.
In a strongly-worded statement released on June 18, flagbearer hopeful Boakye Agyarko tore into the NEC’s decision, calling it “strategically unsound, politically indefensible, and organizationally reckless.”
“Let me state without mincing words: this decision is strategically unsound, politically indefensible, and organizationally reckless,” Agyarko declared. “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?”
Boakye Agyarko questioned how the party could plan to elect a flagbearer before conducting elections for the very officers—coordinators, constituency, and national executives—who would be responsible for organizing and campaigning for that flagbearer.
“How does a serious political party plan to elect a presidential candidate before renewing or replacing the very party structures… that are meant to support and drive that candidate’s campaign?” he asked. “It is a recipe for confusion, conflict, and collapse.”
He further challenged the NEC to answer what he termed “hard but necessary questions,” including which officials would coordinate the primaries, whether outdated executives still represent grassroots sentiment, and whether the timeline was a covert attempt to “tilt the playing field, lock in vested interests, and stifle genuine competition.”
Similarly, tensions have escalated in Kennedy Agyapong’s camp, where spokesperson Kwasi Kwarteng blasted the decision as undemocratic and dismissive of the party base.
“Sovereignty resides with the people. It cannot be said that the over 200,000 polling station executives, their conscience can be sacrificed at the altar of a few people,” Kwarteng said in an interview on Channel One TV.
He acknowledged that suspicions of bias are not unfounded, especially given previous instances in which supposedly neutral party officers were seen to act in favour of preferred candidates.
“Opinions are like noses. They may not be entirely wrong, they also may not be entirely right, especially when you look into the past… and some conduct by certain individuals who were expected to be fair, candid, and neutral.”
The January 2026 date for presidential primaries was approved at a recent NEC meeting in Accra, with internal elections for polling station executives scheduled for December 6, 2025, and timelines for regional and national executives left undecided.
This sequencing has raised alarm bells across the party.
The party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong has however rejected suggestions that the decision was designed to favour Dr. Bawumia.
Speaking on Channel One’s “Point of View” program, Kodua argued that the party’s internal processes are democratic and consistent with past practices.
“I will be very surprised for anyone to think that an election that is yet to be conducted will favour a particular candidate,” he stated.
“The fact that you may even start from polling station to national or national to polling station does not make it skewed towards a particular person. There are current executives who will still continue to be executives.”
Kodua pointed to electoral history from 1992 through 2000, indicating that between 70% and 80% of elected party officials tend to retain their posts through successive elections — implying continuity is not uncommon, regardless of the order of polls.
Despite these reassurances, many in the party remain unconvinced. Sources close to Kennedy Agyapong describe the NEC’s decision as “nonsense,” with some threatening to actively resist or boycott the timeline at the party’s Delegates Conference on July 16.
Boakye Agyarko concluded his fiery statement with a call for the NEC to reverse its decision.
“Let us conduct the executive elections from the polling station 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.”
With less than a month to the Delegates Conference, the party’s unity now hangs in the balance.
