Asiedu Nketia Says NPP Ignored Warning on Internal Elections, Leading to Party Divisions

National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) disregarded his earlier warning that its internal election structure could deepen divisions within the party.

According to him, the NPP’s decision to adopt a top-down approach—where the presidential candidate is selected before other party executives and candidates—created conditions that could leave the party fragmented after the contest.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Mr. Asiedu Nketia argued that political parties are more likely to maintain unity when internal elections are organised from the grassroots level upwards, allowing broader participation and reducing tensions among competing factions.

He said he cautioned the NPP ahead of its presidential primary that the process could result in some party members aligning with unsuccessful aspirants, creating divisions after the eventual winner emerges.

“Indeed, I warned the NPP that the way they were approaching their election, if you vote and choose the presidential candidate first, by all means, during the campaigning of the presidential candidates, you will see some of your parliamentary candidates joining the campaign of a presidential candidate who is different from the eventual winner,” he said.

Mr. Asiedu Nketia explained that once a candidate wins, supporters of the victorious side may seek to remove or sideline members associated with other aspirants, which could damage party cohesion.

“When one person wins, there will be a demand by his supporters to purge the party of all the opponents, and it will divide the party. I predicted this one before they did the top-down approach,” he added.

The NDC chairman said he repeated his concerns when the NPP announced its electoral arrangement but the party proceeded regardless.

He pointed to current tensions within the NPP, including complaints from supporters of former presidential hopefuls such as Kennedy Agyapong and Alan Kyerematen, as evidence of the challenges that can emerge from such a system.

“The supporters of Kennedy are complaining of being sidelined, people have vowed to take them out of the party, supporters of Alan Kyeremanteng, and all those things, it is a natural thing. If you know about it and it begins, you can see where they are going, and I told them about it, but they never listened,” he said.

Mr. Asiedu Nketia maintained that political parties must prioritise inclusive internal processes that strengthen unity and prevent leadership contests from creating lasting divisions among members.

Yaw Opoku Amoako

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