The National Executive Committee of the New Patriotic Party will meet Thursday to set a date for electing the party's presidential candidate for 2016 general elections.

This will be the maiden meeting after Paul Afoko, the Party Chairman, Kwabena Agyepong, the General Secretary, took over the administration of the party.

Other issues on Thursday's NEC meeting include the appointment of some officers of the party, such as deputies for the positions of General Secretary, National Organiser,  Women’s Organiser and National Youth Organiser.

The issue of re-constituting committees of the party, including the Organising Committee, Disciplinary Committee and Legal and Constitutional Committee, is also expected to be on the agenda for meeting.

According to The New Statesman majority of members of the party’s NEC, especially the Regional Chairmen, are pushing for the presidential nomination to be conducted before the end of this year.

"One of the Regional Chairmen, who spoke to the paper yesterday, said: “Our estimation is that if we hold the flagbearership election this year, we can deal with all associated issues before we enter 2015, so that we can then focus all attention on the 2016 general elections”, the newspaper reports in its May 22, 2014 edition.

With the presidential candidate election, the party has to open nominations six months before the date for election.

This means the latest the party can hold the elections will be December, if the National Executive Committee proposes, and the National Council endorses, a plan to hold it before the end of the year.

That would mean that somewhere in June 1, the party will have to open nominations for the exercise.

For the appointment of deputies for some positions, the Steering Committee of the party, made up of the elected officers, who met on Wednesday ahead of today's meeting will submit a proposed list to the NEC for their inputs and subsequent approval.

According to the New Statesman, baring last minute hitches, the immediate past Volta Regional Chairman of the party, Ken Wood Nuworsu, and the former Municipal Chief Executive for Techimanand former parliamentary candidate for Techiman South, Prince Donyina, will get the nod as the two General Secretary deputies.