Former presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, has criticised the party’s decision to elect its presidential flagbearer ahead of renewing the mandate of its executives.

He further raised concerns that the move has deepened internal divisions, weakened the party’s national message, and placed an unnecessary burden on the flagbearer ahead of the 2028 general elections.

Speaking on JoyNews' AM Show on Tuesday, February 3, Dr Kennedy said the flagbearer election was conducted out of sequence and likened the process to “building a house when what was needed was an office.”

“I didn’t think it was the right move,” he said. “All the candidates were fine gentlemen, but I just don’t appreciate the process.”

According to him, the party should have first allowed its executives at the polling station, constituency, regional and national levels to renew their mandates before proceeding to elect a flagbearer.

“It would have been better to let the executives go back to the people to renew their mandate. Then you either get new leaders or re-elected leaders with fresh legitimacy, and after that, you run a flagbearer system,” Dr Kennedy explained.

He argued that the approach adopted by the party undermined credibility and created unnecessary internal tension.

“The difference between what I’m advocating and what we just had is credibility. Unfortunately, and I say this without any animosity, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia would not fare well in that regard, and the process has actually made his burden heavier.”

Dr Kennedy warned that post-primary calls for unity may no longer resonate in Ghana’s evolving political environment.

“There was a time when everybody had a duty to rally around the candidate. That time has passed,” he said. “People now have options.”

He noted that disgruntled party members could either openly defect to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) or quietly vote against their own party.

“There are people who resign in their hearts and go into the voting booth to vote for the NDC. That would never have happened in the past,” he added.

“We are going back to the same electorate with the same candidate they rejected and saying, 'vote for him.' What is the new message?” he asked.

He criticised the six-month primary campaign, arguing that it failed to engage the public on national issues.

“He lamented that the prolonged primary campaign failed to engage the party or the public on key national issues, noting that it was dominated by personal attacks rather than policy debates.

He questioned what clear message the party now intends to present to Ghanaians ahead of the 2028 elections.”