The Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has alleged that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is behind the recent turmoil within the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).

He claimed that the NPP is attempting to manipulate the party’s position on the ballot to secure number 8 for themselves in the upcoming December elections.

He added that since the NDC had the number 8, “they had never relented on that effort to ensure that we go to the election with the NDC carrying number 8.”

Read also: Election 2024: Confusion rocks GFP as 2 factions send contradictory letters to EC

“We do know that the NPP has done so much to try to frustrate GFP relisting into the contest so that they can succeed in changing numbers… what they forget is that no political party has really won an election in Ghana on the basis of numbers. So it is the NPP behind this kind of gimmick,” he claimed.

This follows confusion within the GFP, with two contradictory letters being submitted to the Electoral Commission (EC) regarding the party’s presidential candidate.

The GFP's internal disagreements began after the passing of its founder and flagbearer, Akua Donkor. Following her death, the GFP’s General Secretary submitted a letter to the EC, announcing the party’s endorsement of Philip Kwabena Agyemang, known as Roman Fada, as the new presidential candidate.

This move was in compliance with the EC’s directive for the GFP to nominate a replacement candidate within 10 days, as required by Article 40(4) of the 1992 Constitution.

However, a conflicting letter was submitted by the GFP’s National Organiser, who claimed that, after consultations with Donkor's family, the party had decided to withdraw from the presidential race altogether.

Mr Gbande in response stressed that the General Secretary of GFP had the necessary authority to file with the EC, pointing out that the GFP had an established running mate who would naturally assume the role of presidential candidate.

“If a general secretary goes to file with the consent of the candidate willing to contest, what is the business of a national organizer going to file and say, ‘I have withdrawn’? The national organizer doesn’t have the locus and capacity to do that,” Mr Gbande argued.

However, the NPP's Deputy General Secretary, Haruna Mohammed, has dismissed the NDC's allegations.

According to him, the NPP has no interest in which party secures any particular position on the ballot paper.

"We have no intention of influencing any political party's ballot position."

He clarified that the NPP is simply a stakeholder in the election, not the Electoral Commission and that their focus is solely on their candidate's victory.

Mr Mohammed urged the NDC to stop spreading baseless claims, stressing,

“We are not going to peddle any influence over any political party with respect to any position. When my brother said so, I believe he did not adduce any evidence to support the fact that it is being perpetrated by the NPP,” he noted.