By Nadia Ntiamoah
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has scheduled its 9th National Delegates Congress for December 19, 2026, in the Greater Accra Region, with more than 9,000 delegates expected to converge to elect the party’s next national executive leadership in what is shaping up to be one of its most consequential internal political exercises.
The congress will mark the culmination of the party’s nationwide reorganisation programme, which has moved from the constituency level through the regional structures and is expected to produce a new national leadership team responsible for steering the party’s affairs in the coming years.
However, beyond the election of national officers, the December congress is attracting political attention because it comes at a time when discussions about the NDC’s future presidential leadership and the eventual succession to President John Dramani Mahama are beginning to feature prominently in party conversations.
Spokesperson for the Congress Elections Committee, Peter Boamah Otokunor, disclosed that the main national executive elections would take place on December 19, while elections for the National Youth Organiser and National Women’s Organiser positions would be conducted separately on December 13 and 14, respectively.
The decision to organise the two events separately means that the party’s youth and women’s leadership contests will be concluded before the main delegates congress, allowing the successful candidates to emerge ahead of the final national executive elections.
The congress is expected to attract more than 9,000 delegates drawn from the party’s structures across the country, making it a major gathering in the NDC’s internal democratic calendar.
137 Aspirants Enter The Race For 14 National Positions
The national executive contest has already generated considerable interest, with 137 prospective aspirants picking nomination forms to contest 14 available positions within the party’s national leadership structure.
The positions are National Chairman, National Vice Chairman, General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary, National Organiser, Deputy National Organiser, National Communications Officer, Deputy National Communications Officer, National Women Organiser, Deputy National Women’s Organiser, National Youth Organiser, Deputy National Youth Organiser, National Zongo Caucus Coordinator and members of the National Executive Committee.
The breakdown of the aspirants indicates that the National Executive Committee membership position has attracted the highest number, with 53 people picking forms.
The National Vice Chairman position follows with 19 aspirants, while 14 prospective candidates are seeking the Deputy National Organiser position. The Deputy General Secretary position has attracted 11 aspirants.
Seven candidates each have picked forms for the National Zongo Caucus Coordinator and Deputy National Communications Officer positions, while six are seeking the Deputy National Youth Organiser position.
Five aspirants are contesting the National Chairman position, while four each are seeking the Deputy National Women Organiser and National Youth Organiser positions.
The General Secretary, National Communications Officer and National Women’s Organiser positions have attracted two aspirants each, while the National Organiser position has one prospective candidate.
The figures demonstrate varying levels of competition across the national offices, with the National Chairman and other key positions expected to attract significant attention as the process advances.
Vetting And Endorsements To Determine Who Makes The Final Ballot
The picking of nomination forms does not automatically qualify any prospective candidate to contest the elections.
The party has required all aspirants to complete the formal filing process, pay the prescribed filing fees and secure the necessary endorsements in accordance with the 2026 Guidelines for the Conduct of the National Congress.
The formal submission window is scheduled for November 7 to November 9, 2026, at the party’s national headquarters in Adabraka, Accra.
After the filing process, the Congress Elections Committee is expected to organise the national vetting exercise to assess the eligibility of candidates and determine whether they have satisfied the requirements for contesting the various positions.
The vetting process is particularly important because it will establish the final list of candidates eligible to appear on the ballot paper. Aspirants who fail to satisfy the party’s requirements could face disqualification, subject to the applicable internal procedures.
The party is also expected to conduct balloting to determine the positions of cleared candidates on the ballot papers.
The process follows the NDC’s earlier constituency-level elections, which were held nationwide on October 24 and 25, 2026, to elect executives responsible for managing the party’s affairs at the grassroots.
Those elections, however, were accompanied by reports of disputes over delegates’ registers, ballot paper shortages, allegations of inducement and isolated incidents of violence in some constituencies. The developments raised questions about the management of internal competition and placed pressure on party officials to ensure that subsequent stages of the reorganisation exercise are conducted transparently and peacefully.
The national elections committee will therefore face the task of managing the remaining stages of the process in a manner that maintains confidence among aspirants and delegates.
Regional Elections Form An Important Stage Of The Reorganisation
Before the national congress, the NDC is expected to complete the regional executive elections as part of its efforts to establish a new leadership structure from the grassroots to the national level. The regional elections are scheduled for November 14 and 15, 2026, across the country’s 16 regions.
The exercise follows the completion of the constituency elections and is intended to produce regional officers who will coordinate party activities, supervise grassroots mobilisation and serve as an important link between constituency structures and the national leadership.
The party’s timetable also provides for a National Youth and Women’s Conference on December 12, ahead of the separate elections for the National Youth Organiser and National Women’s Organiser positions.
The two positions are significant within the party because the youth and women’s wings play major roles in political mobilisation, grassroots organisation and campaign activities.
Their separate election dates on December 13 and 14 will precede the main National Delegates Congress on December 19.
Mahama’s Succession Casts A Shadow Over The National Executive Race
The December congress is taking place against the background of growing political discussions about the future leadership of the NDC and who could eventually succeed President Mahama as the party’s presidential candidate.
Mahama returned to the presidency after the NDC’s victory in the 2024 general elections, following his earlier tenure from 2013 to 2017. Having previously served one elected term, he is constitutionally limited to his current second term and cannot seek another elected presidential term after completing it.
Consequently, although the 2028 general election is still ahead, conversations about the party’s post-Mahama leadership have increasingly become part of the political atmosphere surrounding the NDC.
Several senior party figures, including National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and Chief of Staff Dr Julius Debrah, have featured in public discussions and speculation about the party’s future presidential leadership.
