The largest opposition political party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is set to hold its presidential primary on Saturday, January 31, 2026, to elect its flagbearer for the 2028 election.
This will be the 10th presidential primary in the history of the party since its formation in July 1992.
Four men have won the nine presidential primaries the NPP has held to lead the party into the nine general elections of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
Out of these nine presidential elections, the NPP has won four.
Here is a breakdown of the winners of all the presidential primaries the NPP has held:
Prof Albert Adu Boahen (1992):
The first-ever flagbearer of the NPP under the 1992 Constitution was Prof Albert Adu Boahen.
Prof Adu Boahen, who won the NPP presidential primary with about 56.6% of votes from the party’s delegates, contested the 1992 general election but lost to the late former President Jerry John Rawlings (NDC).
John Agyekum Kufuor (1996, 1998, 2003)
The second flagbearer of the NPP was former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who led the party into three different elections.
He won the 1996 NPP flagbearer election with about 51.99% of votes from delegates. He contested the 1996 presidential election and lost to the late Jerry John Rawlings.
He once again contested the party’s 1998 presidential primary and was retained as flagbearer with about 64.6% of the votes from delegates. This time, he went on to win the 2000 presidential election, beating the NDC’s Prof John Evans Atta Mills.
Kufuor went unopposed in the NPP flagbearership race in 2003 and went on to win the 2004 presidential election, beating the late Prof Atta Mills for a second time.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (2007, 2010, 2014, 2019)
Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was the third flagbearer of the NPP. He won the party’s primary in 2007 with about 47.97% of the votes but went on to lose the 2008 presidential election to Prof Atta Mills.
Akufo-Addo was retained as the NPP flagbearer in 2010 with about 78.89%, but he again lost the presidential election to the current President, John Dramani Mahama.
In the 2014 NPP primaries, delegates re-elected him with about 94.35%. He went on to win the 2016 presidential election, beating John Dramani Mahama.
In the 2019 NPP primaries, Akufo-Addo went unopposed, and he went on to win the 2020 presidential election, beating John Dramani Mahama for a second time.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia (2023):
Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is the fourth flagbearer of the NPP. He won the 2023 NPP flagbearer primary with about 61.43% of votes from the party’s delegates.
He, however, lost the 2024 presidential election to President John Dramani Mahama.
