Professor Joseph Freeman Danquah’s call for the NPP to institutionalize its presidential election guidelines:
– Who is Prof. Danquah? Professor Joseph Freeman Danquah is a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bradford, UK. He’s also a former TESCON Vice-President.
– The Core Urging: Prof. Danquah has strongly urged the NPP to make the operational guidelines used for the 2023 and 2026 presidential elections a permanent, standard regulatory framework for all internal party elections.
– Why the Urgency?
– Success of Recent Guidelines: He praised the efforts of the committees chaired by Prof. Mike Oquaye (2023) and Joseph Osei-Owusu (Joe Wise) (2026), stating their approaches significantly boosted stakeholder confidence and set a new benchmark for internal democratic practice.
– Credibility and Transparency: The decisive and incontestable election of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was cited as a testament to the effectiveness of these guidelines and the renewed credibility of the party’s internal democratic architecture. The 2026 election, in particular, was described as nationwide, incident-free, and widely acclaimed for its credibility, transparency, and operational excellence.
– Preventing Factionalism: Historically, poorly managed internal contests have exacerbated factionalism, weakened party cohesion, and led to defections, which adversely affected the party’s electoral fortunes. Institutionalizing these guidelines aims to prevent such issues.
– Ensuring Fairness: Prof. Danquah emphasized the need for transparency in the validation of the party’s album (delegates list) for primaries and stressed that procedures must strictly comply with constitutional provisions to protect the credibility of the electoral roll.
– Key Aspects of the Praised Guidelines:
– They focused on fairness, transparency, and procedural integrity.
– They included targeted enhancements that strengthened procedural clarity, enforcement mechanisms, and institutional discipline.
– The committees maintained institutional independence and upheld zero tolerance for opacity, even amidst intense stakeholder pressures.
– Call for Integration: As the party prepares for the 2028 electoral cycle, Prof. Danquah recommended integrating the expertise and institutional discipline of the Joe Wise committee into the core strategic and campaign architecture of the Bawumia campaign. He believes the party needs principled leadership and institutional courage to uphold integrity.
Essentially, Prof. Danquah sees the recent successful presidential primaries as a blueprint for maintaining unity, credibility, and democratic practice within the NPP for all future internal elections.
