Nine days more to the most-anticipated New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primaries intended to elect a flagbearer to lead the party in the 2028 general election.
The candidates in the primaries are Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Dr. Bryan Acheampong and Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.
The election scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026, has created much tension among delegates, looking forward to choosing the preferred candidate that can restore victory to the party in the next national election.
According to the leadership of the party, the upcoming presidential primaries will be a credible, transparent, and well-secured process.
Speaking on the number of delegates and voting centres for the primaries, the Chairperson of the NPP Presidential Elections Committee, Mr. Joseph Osei-Owusu, stated that a total of 211,849 delegates are anticipated to cast their votes at 333 polling centres located across the country’s 276 constituencies, with voting commencing at 0700 hours and concluding at 1400 hours.
He further mentioned that all logistical, administrative, and security preparations have been finalised, stressing that the Electoral Commission (EC) would oversee the entire process.
“Everything that has to be done is done. The Commission is ready, the police are ready, and everything they need to be able to do their work has been provided,” he remarked in Accra on Tuesday.
Mr. Osei-Owusu elaborated that the party collaborated closely with the EC to determine the voting centres, indicating that each constituency would typically have one centre, except in instances where the number of delegates surpassed 1,000, which necessitated the establishment of additional voting points within the same area.
He noted that this arrangement resulted in a total of 333 polling centres nationwide, including one situated at the party’s headquarters in Accra.
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According to him, two proposed voting centres were relocated following joint evaluations with the EC and constituency executives, a decision that he stated was unanimously endorsed by all five presidential aspirants.
“At every stage, we involved the contestants themselves. We showed them the list, we listened to concerns, and we resolved them together,” he stated.
Regarding the delegate register, Mr. Osei-Owusu mentioned that issues arising from validation, petitions, and corrections were addressed transparently, with representatives of all aspirants actively participating throughout the process.
From an initial list of 213,617 names, he indicated that 2,827 deceased members and 653 individuals who had forfeited their party membership were removed, resulting in 211,849 eligible delegates.
“If you go to our IT centre now, you will find representatives of the contestants verifying everything and endorsing it before final printing,” he added.
Security
Mr. Osei-Owusu said the Ghana Police Service would deploy between 70 and 150 officers at each polling centre, with military support in selected areas, particularly parts of the Upper East Region, to ensure a peaceful election.
“Anybody thinking of bringing private security or ‘macho’ men should think twice. The police will deal with it very, very severely,” he warned.
He also announced that proxy voting had been cancelled for the primaries to safeguard the integrity and credibility of the process.
“We felt that this is not an election in which we should allow anybody the basis to claim that the process was tainted.
“Everybody will be satisfied that he won because he was voted for, or he lost because he was voted against,” he added.
