Aspiring National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Afoko, has dismissed opinion polls on the party’s chairmanship race, insisting that the only poll that matters to him is the actual vote on October 3, 2026.
His comments follow a Global InfoAnalytics survey released on August 20, which placed former NPP General Secretary John Boadu ahead of the leading contenders.
The poll showed John Boadu with 27% support among NPP voters, followed by former Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko with 15% and Paul Afoko with 10%.
After a thanksgiving service for the newly elected Ashanti Regional Executives at Gracefields Chapel in the Nhyiaeso Constituency, Mr Afoko said he was confident his message was gaining support among delegates.
“I don’t believe in any polls. The only poll I believe in is the October 3 poll here in Kumasi,” he said.
“How do I rate my chances? I mean, for the places I have been to, I think the message is resonating. That is what I would say. The message is resonating. But I don’t believe in any polls,” he added.
Mr Afoko said opinion polls were speculative because researchers could not determine whether respondents were being truthful about their preferences.
“All other polls are just speculation. And as they say, you can’t enter into a person’s mind and know whether they are telling you the truth or not,” he said.
He also said his decision to remain in the contest reflected his confidence in winning.
“So I wouldn’t be here campaigning if I thought I was going to lose. I wouldn’t,” Mr Afoko stated.
Mr Afoko further called for unity within the NPP, saying it would be critical to the party’s efforts to regain power.
“The one prerequisite of power is unity,” he said, urging members to overcome divisions and rebuild the spirit of togetherness associated with the party’s formative years.
He also expressed optimism that the NPP could reclaim the seven parliamentary seats it lost in the Ashanti Region during the 2024 elections, noting the region remains central to the party’s parliamentary strength.
According to him, the election of new Ashanti Regional Executives offers the party an opportunity to renew its structures and strengthen its base ahead of future elections.
Mr Afoko described the Ashanti Region as the “heartbeat” and stronghold of the NPP and expressed confidence in the new regional chairman, Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as Asanteman COKA, to help rebuild the party in the region.
