The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has announced that it is fully prepared for its presidential primaries scheduled for Friday, January 31, 2026, assuring party members and the general public of a credible, transparent and well-secured electoral process.
A total of 211,849 delegates are expected to cast their ballots at 333 polling centres across 276 constituencies nationwide. Voting will begin at 7:00 a.m. and close at 2:00 p.m. on the day of the polls.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, the Chairperson of the NPP Presidential Elections Committee, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, said all critical preparations had been concluded, including the compilation of the final voters’ register, security arrangements, designation of voting centres and agreement on election rules.
“Everything that has to be done is done. The Electoral Commission is ready, the police are ready, and all logistics required for the smooth conduct of the exercise have been provided,” he stated.
Mr Osei-Owusu explained that the party worked closely with the Electoral Commission (EC) in selecting the voting centres. Each constituency will have at least one polling centre, except in constituencies where the number of delegates exceeds 1,000, in which case voting points will be split within the same locality to ensure efficiency.
This arrangement, he said, resulted in the establishment of 333 polling centres nationwide, including one located at the party’s national headquarters in Accra.
He disclosed that two initially proposed voting centres were relocated following joint assessments by the EC and constituency executives. The changes, he added, were unanimously approved by all five presidential aspirants.
“At every stage, we involved the contestants themselves. We presented the list of centres, listened to their concerns and resolved all issues together,” Mr Osei-Owusu noted.
On the delegates’ register, he said concerns arising from validation exercises, petitions and corrections were addressed openly and transparently, with representatives of all aspirants fully involved throughout the process.
Out of an initial list of 213,617 names, the party identified 2,827 deceased members and 653 individuals who had forfeited their membership, leaving a final figure of 211,849 eligible voters.
“If you visit our IT centre now, you will see agents of the contestants verifying the data and endorsing it before final printing,” he said.
Mr Osei-Owusu further indicated that the NPP had handed over the entire voting, counting, collation and declaration process to the Electoral Commission to enhance credibility and public confidence.
Results will be declared at the polling centre level, collated at regional centres and finally declared at the party’s national headquarters in Accra, where the winner will be formally announced and introduced to the public.
Touching on security, he said the Ghana Police Service would deploy between 70 and 150 officers per 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 cautioned.
Mr Osei-Owusu also announced that proxy voting had been abolished for the primaries to further protect the integrity of the process.
“We believe this is not an election in which anyone should be given grounds to claim that the process was compromised,” he explained.
The five aspirants contesting the January 31, 2026 NPP presidential primaries are Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former General Secretary Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Assin Central MP Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr Bryan Acheampong, and Minister for Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.
Expressing confidence in the preparations, Mr Osei-Owusu said the process would be fair and acceptable to all contestants.
“At the end of the day, everyone will be satisfied that he won because he was voted for, or he lost because he was voted against,” he said.Source:GNA
