The Chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Elections Committee, Fredrick Opare-Ansah, has clarified that Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, can obtain nomination forms to participate in the party’s 2026 national elections despite his current incarceration.

He explained, however, that picking up a form does not amount to automatic clearance to contest, as the responsibility for determining the eligibility of aspirants lies with the party’s Vetting Committee.

Mr Opare-Ansah made the clarification in an interview with Citi News on Friday, August 21, 2026, following reports that Chairman Wontumi’s campaign team had obtained nomination forms for him.

He said the NPP Secretariat had no authority to prevent any interested party member from acquiring nomination forms.

“Nothing stops anybody from buying a form,” he said.

According to him, questions about an aspirant’s qualification to contest would only be considered when the person appears before the Vetting Committee.

“It is only when you appear before the Vetting Committee that if there is any reason why you cannot be cleared to contest, then that will come up,” he explained.

Mr Opare-Ansah added that nomination forms were also available online, allowing prospective candidates to download and submit them through the appropriate process.

He said he was yet to receive the Secretariat’s final report confirming the names of all individuals who had picked up forms in the various categories.

“I’ve gotten the statistics of how many people picked up forms today, and the breakdown: the Chairman category, the Vice-Chair category. I’m yet to receive the end-of-the-day report, which will tell me exactly which persons picked up forms,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NPP has extended the deadline for the submission of completed nomination forms by two days.

The closing date, initially set for Thursday, August 27, 2026, has now been moved to Saturday, August 29.

The party said the extension was intended to give interested aspirants additional time to complete the nomination and filing process.