NPP delegates to choose new chairman in Kumasi on Saturday as polls point in different directions

Pinned summary · as of 07:40

The New Patriotic Party will pick a new national chairman and other top officers at a delegates conference in Kumasi on Saturday. Four men are in the chairmanship race, and published surveys disagree on who is ahead.

What we know

• Party delegates will gather in Kumasi on Saturday to vote on who fills the NPP's national posts.
• John Boadu, Sammy Crabbe, Paul Afoko and Boakye Agyarko are the four candidates for national chairman.
• Mr Agyarko, a former Energy Minister, has said his aim is a united party that helps Dr Mahamudu Bawumia win the presidency and brings back a parliamentary majority in 2028.
• A survey by Ghana Watch Initiative International gave Mr Agyarko 51.81% support for the chairmanship, and a University of Ghana study or group of lecturers put his figure at 60.7%.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Global InfoAnalytics, in a poll dated 30 September, reported by The Ghanaian Chronicle, gave Mr Boadu 48 per cent, Mr Agyarko 38 per cent, Mr Afoko 12 per cent and Mr Crabbe two per cent. This has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  The Ghanaian Chronicle also reported that a 9,882-person survey by Professor Smart Sarpong of Kumasi Technical University had Mr Boadu ahead, including among delegates. No other report carries this finding.
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  The Custodian reported further details of the Ghana Watch survey: it covered 2,098 constituency executives, gave Mr Boadu 32.32%, Mr Afoko 12.39% and Mr Crabbe 3.48%, and showed Mr Agyarko ahead in 13 of 16 regions. Its researchers described the sample as 29.30% of the 7,160 official delegates. These figures come from the survey's authors alone.
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  The Custodian said Mr Agyarko promised, if elected, to steer the party to victory in 2028, build a credible membership register, publish audited accounts and reconcile aggrieved members. It also quoted Dr Kwame Asah-Asante of the University of Ghana as saying Mr Agyarko has the experience and discipline for the job.
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  The Ghanaian Chronicle reported that Mr Agyarko texted delegates to say his campaign tour had ended and to ask for their votes. Only that paper carries this account.
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  The two reports differ on which posts are being contested. The Custodian lists the chairman, three vice chairmen, general secretary and several organiser and treasurer roles, plus a Nasara coordinator. The Ghanaian Chronicle describes nine positions that include a communications director.
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  The Ghanaian Chronicle reported that Justin Kodua Frimpong is defending the general secretary post, with Eugene Boakye Antwi, Sylvester Tetteh and Charles Dwamena challenging him. It also reported that Mavis Hawa Koomson is running for women's organiser and is ahead in an unnamed survey. No second report supports these points.

Why it matters for Ghana

The people elected on Saturday will run the NPP's machinery as it prepares for the 2028 general election, from its membership register to its campaign organisation. Polls that point to different winners mean delegates in Kumasi, rather than surveys, will settle the leadership. The outcome will shape how united the party looks in the regions as it tries to win back power.