A Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, assumed the national chairmanship of the party following his victory in the closely fought contest, as the party marches on in pursuit of new ambitions for the future.
Last Saturday’s National Delegates Conference which was held in Kumasi was another step towards reorganisation in opposition towards the 2028 elections, as the party altered its constitution to make the flag bearer the leader of the party.
The election marked a remarkable comeback for the former national organiser and former deputy general secretary of the party, who was ousted by an emphatic defeat to re-elected general secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, in 2022.
Mr Boadu polled 2,888 votes as against the 2,408 by his closest challenger, Boakye Agyarko, to complete his return to the national executive of the party.
A former party chairman, Paul Afoko, and former vice-chairman, Sammy Crabbe, secured 790 and 41 votes respectively, although Mr Crabbe had announced his late withdrawal from the contest to throw his weight behind Mr Boadu.
And when his victory was confirmed, Mr Boadu declared that the new leadership would build a renewed NPP, one that listened, consulted more, organised better and prepared more deliberately for the future.
He said they would work closely with regional and constituency executives, external branches, the parliamentary caucus, party members, patrons and every organised group that contributed to the strengthening of the party.
Mr Boadu consequently called for party unity, and extended a hand of friendship and partnership to those who contested but did not win, saying “your ideas, experience, networks and commitments belong to the NPP”.
“There must be no winners and losers, but only one NPP united around one purpose.
Strong parties are not sustained by past achievements alone; rather they endure because they learn, renew themselves and respond courageously to a changing society,” he said.
“I will deepen our relationship with our voluntary groups, TESCON members, social media practitioners and the traditional media because a modern political organisation must engage every means of communicating responsibly,” he added.
Vice-Chairmanship
Three persons, namely Kojo Fosu Boadu (who polled 3116 votes), Henry Nana Boakye (who secured 3,061 votes), and Nana Akomea (who polled 2,987 votes), were elected First, Second and Third Vice-Chairpersons of the party in a race that involved 13 aspirants.
A total of 7,163 delegates were expected to vote for the 47 contestants.
The conference was held on the theme: “One party, one purpose: United for victory”.
The event was graced by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; former Vice-President and flag bearer of the party for the 2028 election, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; former chiefs of staff, Kwadwo Mpiani and Akosua Frema Osei-Opare; former ministers of state and Members of Parliament, among others.
Demonstrate
The new party chairman said his regime would continue to demonstrate unity and commitment, and work closely with the party’s flag bearer to strengthen the organisational and financial foundation of the party, especially at the constituency level.
“We will engage the business community and Ghanaian entrepreneurs with openness and respect, and continue to advance policies that expand opportunities and enterprises to flourish,” he stated.
He stressed the need for the party to rebuild from the grassroots upwards, strengthening of the constituency structures and empowerment of the youth, emphasising also the need for the party to embrace technology without abandoning the human relationships that had sustained it.
“We will serve the NPP with humility, lead through consultation, work with every party member and dedicate this mandate to restoring the winning machinery of our great party,” he mentioned.
Voting process
Although voting was scheduled to officially commence at 12 noon, it started around 6:10 p.m., and ran into the morning of the following day, with results declared around 5 a m. on Sunday.
The voting process, which was completed in six hours, was characterised by long queues despite the creation of 21 polling stations at the venue to quicken the process.
In the General Secretary contest, the incumbent, Mr Frimpong, won with a landslide of 4,483 votes against Sylvester Tetteh who had 1,340 votes, while a former Subin Member of Parliament (MP), Eugene Boakye Antwi, secured 162 votes, and former national Treasurer, Charles Dwamena, polled 129 votes.
For the Women’s Organiser position, a former MP for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, won with 783 votes against 429 votes by her only challenger, Hajia Safia Mohammed.
The National Organiser contest saw a former MP for Tema West, Daniel Nii Kwatei Titus-Glover, securing 2,964 votes to defeat six others, namely Ali Maiga Halidu (2,231 votes), Emmanuel Korsi Bodja (145 votes), Seth Agyei Yeboah (137 votes), Daniel Agyenim Boateng (105 votes) and Archibold Gamor Korlety (85 votes).
Alfred Kojo Thompson clinched the Treasurer position with 2,243 votes as against 1,605 votes secured by Tahiru Isaahaku Moomin, 1,582 votes by Collins Nuamah and 687 votes secured by Ruka Saida Ahmed.
Abanga Yakubu Fusani was elected the National Youth Organiser with 1,550 votes, with his main contender, Clement Opoku Gyamfi, securing 631 votes. Other aspirants, Michael Osei Boateng, Chris Lloyd Nii Kwei Asamoah and Alfred Ababio Kumi had 78, 46 and 25 votes respectively.
For the position of Nasara Organiser, Mohammed Ali Suraj won with 372 votes to beat Saalim Mansuru Bamba and Awal Mohammed who had 311 and 106 votes respectively.
Dennis ‘Miracles’ Aboagye, who went unopposed, was duly elected the Communications Director of the party.
Congratulatory message
In a congratulatory message, the party’s 2028 flag bearer, Dr Bawumia, commended the party for a successful conference, and said it was a culmination of a number of activities towards the restructuring of the party.
“We can only thank the Almighty God for bringing us this far. I wish on behalf of the party to congratulate the newly elected national leadership. You have worked so hard, and your efforts have been rewarded,” he said.
Speaking directly to the unsuccessful contestants, Dr Bawumia said “I wish to assure everybody who contested and lost that you will be part of the campaign for the 2028 elections.
We want everybody to be involved in the interest of the party”.
“There is enough work for everybody. It is important that the party and delegates have given us the mandate to recapture power in 2028, and we are going to bring everyone on board to achieve it,” the former Vice-President said.
He said that it was only through unity that the party would wrest power from the ruling National Democratic Congress, saying “let us come together since the election will not be an easy one”.
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