Hundreds of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constituency have issued an ultimatum to the party’s national leadership, demanding immediate intervention over what they describe as a deeply flawed vetting process for polling station executive positions or risk permanent fractures in the constituency’s support base.
The latest unrest, which erupted during the party’s national vetting exercise running from April 25 to 30, marks another escalation in a constituency that has been in near-constant internal turmoil since March 2026. Affected members allege that aspirants have been disqualified on arbitrary grounds, including being seen dancing to music associated with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), operating businesses near NDC-branded signage, disagreeing with fellow party members, or backing parliamentary hopefuls not aligned with influential local figures.
Tensions at vetting centres have been severe, with reports of heated confrontations, verbal exchanges, and the invocation of religious oaths. Some aspirants allege that submitted nomination forms were tampered with and signatures manipulated to justify their exclusion. Others say they were denied vetting altogether after officials claimed their documents could not be traced.
One aggrieved member challenged her disqualification, saying she had supported an independent candidate in 2020 but fully returned to the NPP and actively participated in its 2024 campaign, including mobilising supporters during a visit by former Second Lady Samira Bawumia to Tarkwa. “How can you now turn around and say I am not a member of the party?” she questioned.
Critics further allege that invitations to the vetting were issued selectively rather than through open channels, and that the composition of vetting committees included electoral area coordinators who had no formal mandate to participate and whose involvement has influenced disqualification decisions.
Multiple petitions have been submitted to both regional and national party executives, but members say they have received little response.
The constituency has been a flashpoint since early 2026. NewsGhana previously reported on the boycott of the Polling Station Elections Committee inauguration by senior constituency executives, the alleged assault of a party activist during the exercise, and a public rebuke of former Member of Parliament George Mireku Duker by constituency elders, who accused him of attempting to manipulate the internal process. Constituency Chairman Benjamin Assabil has previously denied the boycott allegations, describing them as false and stating that all procedures were conducted in compliance with party guidelines.
The discord comes against the backdrop of the NPP’s loss of the Tarkwa-Nsuaem parliamentary seat in the 2024 general elections for the first time since 1996, by a margin of nearly 16,000 votes. Many members believe the internal conflicts contributed to that defeat and warn that the current dynamics risk a repeat.
“If you don’t want us in the party, then don’t come to us after primaries to preach unity,” one group of aggrieved members declared. Moses, a member from the Agona Electoral Area, put it bluntly: “We have not learnt any lessons. We seem comfortable with defeat and not interested in rebuilding the party.”
An appeal window is scheduled for May 1 to 4, 2026, under the party’s official polling station elections timetable.
