Joseph Osei Owusu, chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s Presidential Elections Committee, has defended new rules set to govern the party’s upcoming primaries on January 31.
The measures including a ban on group gatherings at polling centers on voting day are part of efforts to reorganize and reposition the party after its defeat in the 2024 general elections.
In an interview with Morning Target on Bullet TV, Mr. Osei Owusu told host, Bright Nana Amfoh, the guidelines were designed to safeguard the integrity and credibility of the internal electoral process.
“We want the party people to feel confident that the person we have elected is actually the true choice of the delegates,” he said. “When delegates choose you, it’s easy for us, everybody to be whipped to support the one who has been chosen.”
The former lawmaker stressed that delegates must respect the protocols as they would in national elections to ensure order.
“Because it’s a party election, people may think that they can do a little show off, but please we discourage that,” he added. “Just follow the rules as if you’re doing the national elections, you vote and you leave the place.”
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) will officially elect its next presidential flagbearer on Saturday, January 31, 2026, in a nationwide primary that is expected to shape the party’s future direction ahead of the 2028 general elections.
The contest, brings together five aspirants, including former Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; former Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong; former Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum; former Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong; and former General Secretary of the party, Kwabena Agyepong.
Delegates across Ghana will cast their votes under tightened regulations, reflecting reforms introduced after the NPP’s 2024 electoral defeat, with the outcome carrying significant national political implications.
In all, 211,849 delegates are expected to cast their ballots at 333 polling centres located across the country’s 276 constituencies.
