“Out of the 16 regional chairmen, 14 have made it clear we want the congress now. The party needs leadership and a unifier to avert further damage,” he stressed.
Tensions within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are deepening as fourteen out of the party’s sixteen regional chairmen have defied former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s reported push to postpone the party’s early national delegates conference, signaling growing resistance to his influence in the post-2024 election landscape.
In what appears to be a bold show of autonomy, the regional leaders have coalesced around a call for the conference to proceed as planned—contrary to Akufo-Addo’s behind-the-scenes lobbying. The former President is said to be advocating for a delay in the election of a new flagbearer, a move critics say is intended to preserve his sway over the party’s direction.
Speaking to Kumasi Mail ahead of a decisive National Executive Council (NEC) meeting slated for Monday, July 14, a leading regional chairman from the Bono Region confirmed that momentum was firmly on the side of those backing an early congress.
“Out of the 16 regional chairmen, 14 have made it clear we want the congress now. The party needs leadership and a unifier to avert further damage,” he stressed.
The chairman pointed to the NPP’s crushing loss in the 2024 general elections and ongoing factionalism as key reasons to fast-track the flagbearer selection process. He warned that further delays could deepen internal cracks and derail efforts to rebuild ahead of the 2028 elections.
The fallout from the recent Ablekuma North parliamentary primary re-run, he said, is a glaring example of the leadership vacuum and disorder currently plaguing the party. “Despite a NEC directive not to contest in 19 polling stations, our 2024 parliamentary candidate, Akua Afriyie, went ahead with the backing of some party elements. That should tell you how disjointed we are,” he lamented.
Support for an early congress appears to stretch beyond the regions. Within the party’s parliamentary caucus, MPs have reportedly aligned themselves with the call for early elections, citing the need to regain public trust and start rebuilding grassroots support.
“We lost to the NDC by almost two million votes in 2024. Closing that gap starts now—not in 2026,” a member of the caucus told Kumasi Mail. “Waiting any longer only helps our opponents.”
The MP also scoffed at another reported proposal being floated by Akufo-Addo—to reverse the current structure and adopt a top-down system of electing party executives. “That idea won’t survive ten minutes in NEC. It’ll be dismissed immediately,” the lawmaker said.
Although the top-down proposal is reportedly enjoying some support among a segment of outgoing party executives and grassroots members, both the regional chairmen and parliamentary bloc remain staunchly opposed, viewing it as a step backward that could stifle internal democracy.
Among national executives, Acting Chairman Smith Danquah Butey is seen as the only high-profile figure yet to fully commit to the early congress. However, party insiders suggest he may be warming to the idea as pressure mounts ahead of the NEC meeting.
The growing rift between party elders and regional structures underscores the challenges facing the NPP as it attempts to regroup after a devastating electoral defeat. With a pivotal NEC meeting on the horizon, the battle lines over the party’s future leadership and direction are now unmistakably drawn
Discussion about this post