The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reaffirmed its readiness for the presidential primaries slated for January 31, 2026, assuring members and the general public of a credible, transparent, and secure process. A total of 211,849 delegates are expected to cast their ballots at 333 polling centres across all 276 constituencies, with voting scheduled to run from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Chairperson of the NPP Presidential Elections Committee, Mr. Joseph Osei-Owusu, confirmed that all logistical, administrative, and security preparations have been finalised. He emphasised that the Electoral Commission (EC) will oversee the entire exercise. “Everything required has been completed. The Commission is ready, the police are ready, and all necessary resources have been provided to ensure smooth operations,” he stated 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.
Mr. Osei-Owusu cautioned against the use of private security or so-called “macho” men during the primaries, stressing that the police would respond with firm action against any such attempts. He further disclosed that proxy voting had been eliminated to protect the integrity and credibility of the exercise. “We believe this is not an election where anyone should have grounds to suggest the process was compromised,” he explained.
The January 31 NPP presidential primaries will feature five aspirants: Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, and Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum. Expressing confidence in the arrangements, Mr. Osei-Owusu said the outcome would be accepted by all candidates. “Everyone will recognise that they either won because they were genuinely voted for, or lost because they were voted against,” he affirmed
Source: William Narh
