NPP Announces Date for 2028 Flagbearer Primary

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced the date for its 2028 election primaries in a move that surprised political observers.

During a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, the party settled on January 31, 2026, for its flagbearer race.

General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong announced the move and the rationale behind it.

“The Committee also spoke about the time for our presidential primaries. And again, the Committee agrees that that decision does not warrant amendment of our Constitution. And the National Council today also made the decision that the date for our presidential primaries is set for January 31, 2026. That will be the date that we shall hold our presidential primaries,” he said.

The party said the code of conduct, campaign schedules and nomination guidelines will be made public in the coming weeks.

The NPP’s 2028 Presidential primaries are expected to be the most fiercely contested since 2008.

Former Vice President and 2028 flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and former Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong have both announced their intentions to contest and have been identified by pundits as the main frontrunners.

Meanwhile, the influential Member of Parliament for Abetifi, Bryan Acheampong, has also announced an exploratory committee to decide on whether to make a run for the position.

Analysis

The NPP appears locked in a deadly battle for the future of the party, with the current leadership that orchestrated its most humiliating defeat intent on remaining in power.

The timing for the flagbearer primary, three full years before the next Presidential election and before the party holds its National delegates conference, appears aimed at ensuring the failed executives retain power over the choice of the next party leader.

This might favour former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, with the insurgent campaign of Kennedy Agyapong at a disadvantage due to being forced to campaign in the same hostile environment that led to his loss in the last flagbearer primary.