Members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) are electing new regional executives this weekend, with fierce contests in several regions as the party reorganizes ahead of the 2028 general election.
Apart from Western North, which holds its election on Sunday, August 16, the remaining 15 regions voted on Saturday.
In Greater Accra, where voting took place at the WAEC Hall in Tema Community 5, a total of 730 delegates were expected to cast ballots. The election attracted 36 aspirants contesting 10 regional executive positions.
The Greater Accra Regional Research and Elections Officer and member of the Regional Elections Committee, Ebenezer Doku, said delegates from all 32 constituencies were participating. Each constituency was expected to provide 19 delegates, except Ablekuma West, which is providing 11 because it recently held its own election and has yet to complete its delegate list.
The electoral college also includes members of the current Regional Executive Committee, Members of Parliament with voting rights, members of the Regional Council of Elders and Council of Patrons, and representatives of accredited institutions and the Tertiary Students Confederacy Network (TESCON). Doku said safeguards had been put in place to prevent double voting by delegates eligible under more than one category, and that four surviving founding members of the NPP were also eligible to vote.
He described the exercise as peaceful and orderly. "So far, it's smooth. We've not encountered any difficulties. No acrimony. No candidate has raised any issue except the normal questions and answers which we have tried to answer," he said. Voting opened at 8am and was due to close at 2pm, though Doku said any delegate already in the queue at closing time would still be allowed to vote.
The Regional Chairman race in Greater Accra is being contested by Alfred Boye and Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye. Boye has run on an economic agenda, pledging to promote entrepreneurship, set up Business Advisory Boards in the MMDAs and expand skills development opportunities for young people. Okoe-Boye, a former Ledzokuku MP, has campaigned under the theme "Greater Accra Restoration," focused on rebuilding party unity and reversing the NPP's electoral decline in the region.
Other Greater Accra positions are also contested. Daniel Parker Odarlai France and Emmanuel Korkwei Clottey are vying for Secretary, while Moses Abor, Collins Kofi Asante and Emmanuel Anim Austin are contesting Regional Organiser. Kwame Bekoe, Mandela W Iafe and Edward Benjamin Nargeh are in the running for Youth Organizer. Three aspirants, Racheal Tutu, Joana Frances Adda and Emmanuel King Affotey, are contesting 1st Vice Chairman, while Prince Obeng, Kofi Ofori and Peter Henry Vanderpuije are contesting 2nd Vice Chairman.
Five candidates, Naomi Akosua Owusu, Perpetual Asante, Naana Eyeson, Sarah Dugbakie Pobee and Marie Timitey, are contesting Women's Organizer, and four, Abdul-Rahaman Sabo Adam, Isaac Oheneba Danso Junior, George Asafo-Adjei and Solomon Assante, are contesting Communication Officer. Both the Treasurer and Deputy Secretary positions have five aspirants each: Michael Danquah, Kofi Twum Boafo, David Laryea, Ellis Annang Shipie and Francisca Anyorkor Boateng Amponsem for Treasurer, and Gideon Nii Ampim Sackey, Baba Seidu Issaka, Albert Estaraus Nii Kraku, Shaibu Abdullai Ananafo Kabore and Charles Oteng for Deputy Secretary.
In the Northern Region, 410 delegates from all 18 constituencies were expected to vote at the Tamale Sports Stadium, with the exercise proceeding smoothly.
The chairmanship there is keenly contested by incumbent Mohammed Bantama Samba, Amadu Inusah, popularly known as "Dagomba Boy," Salifu Abdul Mumin and Musah Fuseini. Iddrisu Sunday and Ayamba Yelmagli are contesting 1st Vice Chairman, while Dr Fusheini Zakaria Kpana and Dr Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim Kpala are vying for Secretary. Five candidates, Suraiya Manan, Alice Dawuni, Rashida Abdulai, Zenabu Sulemana and Salamatu Abdul Rauf, are contesting Women's Organizer, and Ahmed King Fasail, Kaleem M. Ibrahim and Bediako Jeremiah are contesting Deputy Secretary.
The Chairman of the Northern Regional Elections Committee, Salifu Saeed, urged delegates to elect candidates capable of uniting the party and helping it win more seats in the next general election, and appealed to aspirants to accept the outcome peacefully. "Unity is what we are looking for after the election. We have to do the election peacefully so that our unity will be stronger than before," he said, adding that the party needed to protect its existing seats and expand its representation in the region.
