BY Daniel Bampoe
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has formally released an extensive set of operational guidelines governing its upcoming Presidential Primary scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026—an internal election considered pivotal as the party seeks to regain momentum ahead of the 2028 general polls.
The guidelines, communicated through an official correspondence signed by William Yamoah, Secretary to the Presidential Elections Committee, were distributed to all presidential aspirants and senior party stakeholders.
The issuance of the rules follows months of internal consultations, stakeholder engagement, and institutional input from the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), which will supervise the primary.
According to the Committee, the objective is to ensure a transparent, credible, and violence-free process—an effort partly driven by criticisms and lessons from past internal elections where tensions, allegations of vote-buying, and security breaches frequently dominated discussions.
Under the new framework, voting will simultaneously take place across all 276 constituencies and the party’s national headquarters in Accra, making a total of 277 voting centers. Each constituency capital will host one voting center, with the Electoral Commission mandated to recommend venues subject to stakeholder approval.
In cases of disagreement, the Presidential Elections Committee will have the final say.
A key feature of the guidelines is the strict enforcement of security and access control.
Only delegates, accredited agents, committee members, and EC officials will be allowed beyond security perimeters.
The Ghana Police Service alone will handle all security operations on the day, with the directives explicitly banning “machomen” and unauthorized persons from approaching the voting area.
The party also prohibits campaigning, canvassing, or any gathering of party supporters on the eve of the election.
Delegates’ conduct is also tightly regulated. They are banned from wearing clothing or accessories that display the identity of any contestant, and the use of phones within the voting perimeter is strictly prohibited.
Ballot secrecy is heavily emphasized, with the EC deploying complex serial-numbered ballots to prevent future tracing. Any delegate caught photographing a marked ballot risks arrest, and such ballots will be nullified.
Voting will follow a strict walk-in system—no calling of names, escorting of voters, or grouping of delegates. Polls open at 7:00 am and close at 2:00 pm, with counting and declaration of results occurring immediately after close of polls at each constituency center. Results will then be transmitted to the EC regional offices for collation before the final declaration at the party’s national headquarters.
The guidelines also outline an exhaustive list of eligible delegates, reflecting the NPP’s broad internal electoral college.
These include members of the National Council, National Executive Committee, constituency and regional executives (both serving and former), MPs, former MPs, polling station officers, TESCON representatives, founding members, external branch executives, former government appointees, council of elders and patrons at both regional and constituency levels, among others.
Each delegate is entitled to one vote, and a candidate must secure more than 50% of valid votes cast to win outright. If no candidate achieves the threshold, a runoff between the top two contenders will be held.
The Committee further provided a detailed mechanism to resolve potential electoral ties, as well as procedures for handling disputes, which must be submitted directly to the Presidential Elections Committee for swift resolution. It also confirmed that no proxy voting will be allowed and that only delegates whose names appear in the validated voter register can participate.
The release of these guidelines signals the party’s readiness to stage one of its most closely watched internal elections, with leading contenders including Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ken Ohene Agyapong, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, and Ing. Kwabena Agyepong.
However, as the NPP positions itself for a competitive bid in 2028, the January primary is expected to serve as a defining moment in shaping both its leadership dynamic and internal cohesion.
