The selection of a Presidential Candidate for the NPP to contest the 2028 general elections is the most important agenda on the calendar of the party and this can only be done through the organisation of a successful primary.
Every effort must therefore be made to ensure that the exercise ends uniting the party instead of causing disunity. The unity of the party is key to victory in the 2028 contest and the reason why the early primary is being held in January 2026.
In war, the most important factor is to know your enemy and in politics your opponent. This critical factor unfortunately will elude the NPP delegates because the NDC will nominate its next presidential candidate sometime in 2027. The delegates would have loved to know who their chosen candidate will contest with in 2028 elections, but this is not possible.
Many things have already been said and written, for and against early primary, but the successful National Delegates Conference held by the Party at the Legon Sports Stadium closes all arguments about early presidential primary. This is not the first time the party is conducting a presidential primary, but the pressure and obstacles the party is scaling through suggest that this presidential primary must be organised with a difference.
Party unity has been identified as the most important factor to be achieved and therefore the primary must achieve this objective at the end of electing the Presidential Candidate.
At the National Delegates Conference at the Legon Sports Stadium in Accra, 56 amendments to the constitution were proposed. Of the 56 proposals, only two were rejected and the remaining 54 were passed. The turnout was impressive considering the current low morale within the party. This congress has paved the way for interested presidential candidates to show their faces and so far, five presidential aspirants who picked their forms have duly registered to participate in the primary.
The Congress has taken some major decisions which will affect the dynamics of the coming primary. The most important of them all is the increase in the number of delegates who will be eligible to vote during the primary. The decisions taken at the Congress targets the expansion of the delegates which will far exceed the number which voted during the last presidential primary.
The number for the last primary was about 205,000 and with the inclusion of all ex-Constituency, Regional and National executives, ex-MMCEs, ex-DCEs, card bearing MPs, MPs, deputy Ministers etc. since 1992, this number is likely to go up to approximately 300,0000. The rationale is to reduce financial influence of delegates during the elections.
The Party has a lot of homework to do to implement the policy especially how to compile the voters’ register. The Party has opened the Voter Register now, but ideally this should have been done earlier to allow the contestants time to reach the delegates. It looks like a simple task but there are challenges that can create unnecessary tension.
Some party supporters do not know all who are qualified as voters or delegates and it will take some time for the completed delegates list to be issued to all. It is to be noted that only the current old executives of polling stations will vote in the coming election. The exercise must be done transparently with no ambiguities to satisfy all aspirants to prevent some candidates using this as an excuse to create confusion or accuse the national executives of eschewing the process in favour of a particular candidate.
The compilation of the delegates’ album must be given all the attention it deserves to ensure peace and stability in the Party. I am sounding the warning because the compilation of polling station albums in constituencies, has been a major cause of dissatisfaction in many internal constituency elections. The current national executives must be aware that many party supporters are not happy with them as a result of the 2024 election defeat and therefore they must hang on to the little credibility that is left and come out clean on this one.
Some supporters have already given up hope because they do not believe the party can turn things round and it is the responsibility of the executives to restore the confidence. The confidence to win 2008 elections will be given the added boost if the compilation of the delegates’ album is managed properly and accepted by all contestants. I believe that the NPP can win the next election if the party unity is sustained and the next flagbearer is elected peacefully without recriminations. I also think that the more supporters blame others, the more difficult the task ahead will be for the NPP, and it must stop.
Some Ghanaians may not be convinced that the NPP can win the 2028 elections. Well, that is their problem. Many did not give President Mahama a chance to win, but he won a landslide victory. Besides, elections in Africa have different dimensions and do not conform to logic.
Seven months ago, during the last election campaign, “galamsey”, corruption and LGBTQ+ were some issues for which many academic professors were prepared to abandon the comfort of their lecture rooms to embark on demonstrations nationwide in respect of them. Seven months after the elections, these issues have ceased to draw their attention even though the issues raised remain major challenges to the country and have even escalated.
The next important item before the campaign starts is the rules and regulations covering the contest. These must be written and discussed with all participants. All contestants must make an undertaking to abide by the rules and regulations. The punishment for all rules must be written and discussed with contestants before the contest begins and anyone who breaks the rules and regulations must be dealt with according to the rules. Quite often, the followers of candidates are blamed for the insults and many of the misconduct, but this should not present a problem if the candidates and their followers are considered as one body.
The enforcement of rules and regulations will ensure peace and unity. If any contestant feels too big to abide by the rules and regulations, that individual must be made to understand that the Party is supreme and bigger than any individual. We should not be afraid of people who may be hiding in the party to create all kinds of problems. Those who may threaten to quit the party, should be encouraged to quit because they do not love the party. Threatening to quit is blackmail and should not be entertained. History is there to guide us all – those who left the party to form their own parties did not make a dent in the NPP and this should encourage the executives to stand firm.
Indiscipline and display of wealth are some of the problems that must be dealt with decisively. The supremacy of the party is the key word and nobody, and I mean nobody is bigger than the party. Those who are boasting of their riches should confirm if they made their monies on their own without the help of the Party. It is about time such people are told in plain words to go and form their own party and leave NPP alone. We must enforce discipline if we are determined to win the next election. Yes, unity is important, but I can bet my last pesewa that without discipline, unity will be difficult to achieve.
The last but not the least, is the MISSION of the party. I have observed from the past primaries that the mission of the Party has not always been articulated by the party prior to the selection of a presidential candidate. It had always been the presidential aspirants’ whose ambitions have been articulated to convince delegates to vote for them. I may be wrong, but I strongly feel that the Party’s mission should form the basis to guide presidential aspirants.
The candidate is elected to lead the party and therefore must implement the mission of the party. There is nothing wrong with candidates voicing their programmes, but it must necessarily emanate from the bigger picture of the party. The enforcement is necessary to foster closer relationship between the Party and the President, during the presidential tenure. I think the relationship between the party and the presidency should be built around the mission of the party and not that of the Candidate. The relationship between the Party and the Presidency in the past administrations has not been as cordial as many observers would have wished.
I think the party can win the 2028 elections if lies, deceit and vile propaganda of the NDC, continue to be exposed to Ghanaians, but the victory will not be won on a silver platter. The party must sustain its unity, maintain discipline and demonstrate its commitment to win by abstaining from internal insults and blame game.
Yes, it is possible!
Brig-Gen (Rtd) J. Odei