The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has assured that it is fully prepared for its presidential primaries scheduled for January 31, 2026, assuring party members and the public of a credible, transparent, and well-secured process.
A total of 211,849 delegates are expected to vote at 333 polling centres across the country’s 276 constituencies, with polls opening at 0700 hours and closing at 1400 hours.
The Chairperson of the NPP Presidential Elections Committee, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, said all logistical, administrative, and security arrangements had been completed, adding that the Electoral Commission (EC) would conduct 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 said in Accra on Tuesday.
Mr Osei-Owusu explained that the party worked closely with the EC to identify voting centres, noting that each constituency would generally have one centre, except in cases where the number of delegates exceeded 1,000, leading to the creation of additional voting points within the same locality.
He said the arrangement resulted in a total of 333 polling centres nationwide, including one at the party’s headquarters in Accra.
According to him, two proposed voting centres were relocated after joint assessments with the EC and constituency executives, a decision he said was unanimously approved 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 said.
On the delegate register, Mr Osei-Owusu said issues arising from validation, petitions and corrections were handled transparently, with representatives of all aspirants actively involved throughout the process.
Out of an initial list of 213,617 names, he said 2,827 deceased members and 653 persons who had forfeited their party membership were removed, leaving 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.
Mr Osei-Owusu said the NPP had formally handed over the voting, counting, collation and declaration process to the EC, with results to be declared first at polling centres, collated at regional centres and finally announced at the party’s headquarters in Accra.
The headquarters, he said, would then officially present the winner to the public.
On 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.
“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 abolished 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,” he said.
The five aspirants contesting the January 31 NPP presidential primaries are Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Dr Bryan Acheampong and Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.
Mr Osei-Owusu expressed confidence that the process would be widely accepted by all contestants.
“Everybody will be satisfied that he won because he was voted for, or he lost because he was voted against,” he said.
