The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is set to hold its national officers election in Kumasi, Ghana, with 7,163 delegates expected to participate. The election, taking place at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, will see 45 aspirants contesting nine national positions. The party has undergone significant changes since losing the 2024 general election, including a review of its constitution and the election of a presidential candidate for 2028.
The NPP's electoral strength has traditionally depended on winning Ashanti Region, but the party's performance in the region declined in the 2024 presidential election. The party secured 1,366,800 votes in Ashanti, a reduction of roughly 429,000 votes from 2020. The NDC increased its Ashanti presidential vote from 653,149 to 697,076 during the same period. The NPP still won the region comfortably but its share fell to about 64 percent.
In response to the national defeat, the NPP established an 11-member Election Review Committee chaired by former Speaker of Parliament Rev. Prof. Mike Oquaye. The committee examined the causes of the defeat and consulted party stakeholders, submitting its report to the National Executive Committee in April 2025. The party subsequently established another committee to examine recommendations that required changes to the NPP constitution.
The NPP approved 54 reforms at its July 19, 2025 National Delegates Conference, touching internal elections, grassroots participation, governance, executive structures, campaign organisation, and the relationship between the party leadership and its presidential candidate. The party then moved to settle another major question: who would lead it into the 2028 presidential election. Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia won the NPP presidential primary on January 31, 2026, with 110,643 votes.
The officers elected in Kumasi will operate alongside a flagbearer who already has a direct mandate from nearly 200,000 party voters. The debate over who formally leads the NPP is particularly important, with a proposal before delegates to make the flagbearer, rather than the National Chairman, the leader of the party. The chairmanship election is therefore taking place at the same time the party is debating the powers of the office itself.
Four candidates are contesting the chairmanship, each bringing a different history within the NPP. John Boadu is attempting a return to the highest levels of national party leadership after losing the General Secretary position in 2022. Paul Afoko's candidacy brings back another important chapter in NPP history, having been elected National Chairman in 2014 but suspended in October 2015.
The national officers election is made up of different electoral colleges operating within one conference, with varying numbers of delegates eligible to vote in each contest. The Youth Organiser race has an electorate of 2,745 delegates, the Women’s Organiser contest has 1,275, while 858 delegates are eligible to vote in the NASARA Organiser election. Voting will take place across 31 polling stations.
Key points
- The NPP's national officers election in Kumasi will determine the party's leadership and structure.
- The election comes after significant changes within the party, including a review of its constitution and the election of a presidential candidate for 2028.
- The party's performance in Ashanti Region, its traditional electoral stronghold, declined in the 2024 presidential election.
