Is Dr. Bawumia Truly an Outsider?

Dr. Bawumia, since 2008, has been a member of the NPP after being nominated as the running mate to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the 2008 general elections. He was the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, appointed during President Kufuor's government in 2007.

After accepting the position of running mate for the NPP Presidential Candidate in the 2008 election, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been with the party for 17 solid years and has paid his dues to the New Patriotic Party diligently and faithfully, without any fear or favor. He has helped the party grow from strength to strength as the Vice Presidential Candidate since 2008.

When the NPP won the 2016 election, Dr. Bawumia was sworn in as the Vice President of Ghana, assisting President Akufo-Addo in implementing the major campaign manifesto promises of the NPP government during the two consecutive terms the party was in power from 2017 to 2024. During the 2024 general elections, he was the elected presidential candidate for the NPP, even though the party lost the elections.

Therefore, how can such an astute person, who has been with the cause of the party for 17 years—first as a Vice Presidential Candidate for four consecutive terms (2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020), a star witness for the NPP in the 2012 election petition, and then as the Presidential Candidate in the 2024 election—be portrayed as an outsider just because of internal elections?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Can an Outsider Contest the NPP Presidential Election?

Setting the Record Straight

Per Article 13 (3) of the NPP Constitution, as amended in 2017, which pertains to the election of a Presidential Candidate, it states that "Any Member may, before the expiry of the period set out in Article 13 (2), apply for nomination as the Party's Presidential Candidate." Moreover, clause (7) of Article 13 of the same constitution states, "No Member shall be entitled to nomination as the Party's Presidential Candidate unless he or she:"

(a) is a known and active member for at least five (5) years;

(b) is of good character;

(c) is of good standing, just to name a few.

This is what the NPP's Constitution prescribes for anyone who wishes to contest in the NPP presidential election.

Here, since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced the opening of nominations for its presidential election to elect a candidate for the 2028 elections, there has been a series of campaigns among the candidates contesting for the highest position to lead the party on 31st January 2026. And one of the major fallouts from the campaigns is the fact that the former Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who was also the presidential candidate for the NPP in the 2024 elections and is the leading contender and potential candidate to win the upcoming presidential primaries, is being tagged as an "OUTSIDER" who is not fit to lead the NPP again going into the 2028 elections.

This illogical assertion and deliberate narrative being propagated against the ultimate winner have generated many misconceptions in the minds of some party delegates, members, sympathizers, and the general public, who either do not know what the Constitution of the NPP says in such matters or lack accurate information and education on who is qualified to contest for the NPP presidential election.

The worrying aspect of all this is the fact that such lies, misinformation, and disinformation are coming from people who are expected to know better, given their backgrounds and qualifications in the party. This creates a negative impression, publicity, and image for the party in the minds of the right-thinking Ghanaian electorate going into the 2028 elections.

Yet, under the above NPP's constitutional provisions, no outsider has the right to participate in any presidential election of the party until such a person has first become a registered and active member for at least five (5) years, is of good standing and character, etc. This is the NPP's constitutional requirement expected of anyone wishing to contest for the highest office of the party.

In conclusion, upon carefully examining the NPP's constitutional provisions on presidential elections and the number of years Dr. Bawumia has been with the New Patriotic Party, it would take only a person with ill motives to describe such a revered individual as an "outsider."

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The author, Yaw Marvin, is a Development Communication Practitioner from Kwesimintsim Zongo.