NPP grassroots group petitions leadership over annulment of Ashanti constituency elections

A group calling itself the Grassroots Patriotic Alliance has petitioned the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership to immediately withdraw its decision annulling constituency executive elections in selected constituencies in the Ashanti Region.

The petition argues that the National Steering Committee lacked the constitutional authority to invalidate completed elections and breached the party’s principles of natural justice by announcing the annulment before affected parties were given a hearing.

The group further contends that the elections were conducted under the supervision of duly appointed regional officers, with the Electoral Commission and the Ghana Police Service present to ensure transparency and credibility.

It also defended Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, saying he acted within his mandate by swearing in elected officers in the absence of any directive suspending the election results.

The petition calls on the party to suspend implementation of the annulment, disclose the constitutional basis for the decision, preserve all election materials, grant affected parties a fair hearing, and refer the matter to the appropriate constitutional bodies for review.

It maintains that the dispute is about upholding the NPP Constitution and protecting the integrity of the party’s internal democratic processes.

Read the full petition below:

PETITION FOR THE IMMEDIATE RETRACTION OF THE COMMUNIQUÉ ANNULING CONSTITUENCY EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS IN THE ASHANTI REGION

To:
The National Council
The National Executive Committee (NEC)
The National Steering Committee
The General Secretary
New Patriotic Party (NPP)

As a coalition and stakeholders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), respectfully petition the National Leadership of the Party to immediately retract the communiqué issued by the General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua purporting to annul the Constituency Executive Elections conducted in selected constituencies within the Ashanti Region.

This petition is founded on the Constitution of the New Patriotic Party, the principles of natural justice, administrative fairness, and the need to preserve confidence in the Party’s democratic processes.

BACKGROUND

The Constituency Executive Elections in the affected constituencies were conducted under the supervision of duly appointed Regional Supervising Officers in accordance with the Party’s electoral arrangements. The Electoral Commission and the Ghana Police Service were present to ensure transparency, order and credibility throughout the electoral process.

Following the successful conduct of these elections and the declaration of results, the General Secretary issued a communiqué announcing the annulment of the elections in selected constituencies.

Curiously, the same communiqué invited the Ashanti Regional Steering Committee to appear before the National Steering Committee several days later to respond to the issues that allegedly informed the annulment.

Respectfully, this sequence raises a fundamental constitutional concern. A decision affecting the rights of candidates, delegates and elected officers was announced before the persons concerned were afforded the opportunity to be heard.

THE APPLICABLE CONSTITUTION

The Party’s 2025 Constitution expressly provides that it supersedes the 2017 Constitution upon coming into force. Accordingly, the 2026 Constituency Executive Elections were governed by the 2025 Constitution unless specific transitional provisions provide otherwise.

Nonetheless, the 2017 Constitution remains instructive in demonstrating the Party’s long-established constitutional architecture, particularly regarding the limited powers of the National Steering Committee, the role of the Regional Executive Committee and the constitutional safeguards applicable to Party decision-making.

GROUNDS OF THE PETITION

1. The National Steering Committee Has No Express Constitutional Power to Annul Completed Constituency Elections

Historically, Article 10 limits the National Steering Committee to the daily management of the affairs of the Party and the handling of urgent matters on behalf of the Party, subject to reporting its actions to the National Executive Committee.

While the Constitution expressly grants the Steering Committee certain election-related functions, including the appointment of a National Officer to supervise Regional Officers’ elections, it nowhere confers an express power to annul completed Constituency Executive Elections.

The Constitution deliberately distinguishes between electoral supervision and electoral adjudication. An express grant of one electoral function cannot be interpreted as an unlimited authority to invalidate elections conducted under the Constitution.

2. Constituency Elections Constitutionally Belong to the Delegates

The Constitution clearly establishes that:

• Constituency delegates elect their officers. • The Regional Executive Committee appoints supervisors for those elections. • Elected officers derive their mandate directly from the delegates.

The National Steering Committee cannot constitutionally substitute itself for either the delegates or the Regional supervisory structure by nullifying elections without following constitutionally established procedures.

3. The Decision Violated the Constitutional Right to Be Heard

The Constitution expressly guarantees every member the right to be heard whenever his or her conduct or activities are under consideration.

Yet, the communiqué announcing the annulment was issued before the scheduled appearance of the Ashanti Regional Steering Committee.

In effect, judgment was delivered before the hearing.

This is contrary to the principles of natural justice and the Party’s own constitutional commitment to fairness.

4. The Constitutional Hierarchy Was Not Respected

The Constitution establishes a clear hierarchy of authority:

• National Delegates Conference; • National Council; • National Executive Committee; • National Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee is a committee of the National Executive Committee and must report its actions to the NEC.

A subordinate committee cannot lawfully exercise greater final authority than the constitutional body to which it is accountable.

5. The Matter Ought to Have Been Referred to the Appropriate Constitutional Organs

This dispute concerns competing constitutional authority between:

• The Regional Executive Committee; • Regional Election Supervisors; • The National Steering Committee; • The National Executive Committee; and • The National Council.

Such constitutional questions should properly have been referred to the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee for advice before any irreversible decision affecting Party elections was taken.

Under the current constitutional framework, the Electoral Affairs Committee equally has a direct interest in preserving the integrity of internal Party elections.

6. The Annulment Is Inconsistent with the Party’s Own Standards of Due Process

The Constitution requires notice, stated grounds, an opportunity to be heard and delegate participation before elected officers may be removed from office.

If the Constitution requires elaborate safeguards before removing a single elected officer, it is difficult to justify the wholesale nullification of the mandate of thousands of delegates through a communiqué issued before affected persons were heard.

7. Chairman Wontumi Acted Within His Constitutional Authority

The communiqué appears to create the impression that Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) acted improperly by swearing into office the duly elected Constituency Executive Officers.

Respectfully, no constitutional provision has been identified that prohibited the Ashanti Regional Chairman from administering the oath of office to officials who had been duly elected through elections supervised by constitutionally appointed Regional Supervising Officers.

The swearing-in of elected officers is not the election itself. It neither determines the outcome nor creates the mandate. It is merely the formal recognition of the mandate already conferred by the delegates.

Chairman Wontumi did not conduct the elections, count the ballots or declare himself the electoral authority. He merely performed the administrative and ceremonial responsibility of swearing in officers whose election had not been suspended, invalidated or set aside by any competent constitutional authority.

If the National Party had concerns regarding the elections, fairness and administrative propriety required that such concerns be communicated before or immediately upon becoming aware of the alleged irregularities.

At no point prior to the swearing-in was the Ashanti Regional Chairman formally directed to suspend the inauguration of the elected officers.

In the absence of any lawful directive prohibiting the swearing-in or suspending the election results, Chairman Wontumi cannot fairly be criticised for recognising election outcomes that remained valid at the material time.

QUESTIONS THAT REQUIRE ANSWERS

To promote transparency, accountability and constitutional fidelity, we respectfully request that the National Leadership answer the following questions:

1. Did the National Headquarters issue any written directive to Chairman Wontumi instructing him not to swear in the elected Constituency Executive Officers?
2. Was any communication sent to the Ashanti Regional Executive Committee directing that election results should not be declared or recognised?
3. Before issuing the communiqué, did the National Steering Committee formally suspend the affected election results?
4. If such directives existed, on what dates were they issued, who authorised them and when were they served on the Regional Chairman?
5. If no such directives were issued, on what constitutional basis is Chairman Wontumi criticised for performing an administrative function in respect of election results that remained valid at the time?
6. At the time the officers were sworn into office, had the National Steering Committee heard any petition relating to those constituencies?
7. Had any findings been made against the Regional Chairman, the Regional Executive Committee or the Regional Supervising Officers before the communiqué was issued?
8. Was Chairman Wontumi ever notified that his intended actions would constitute a breach of the Party Constitution?
9. Why were the elections allowed to proceed to completion if the National Party believed they were fundamentally flawed?
10. If the elections were under investigation, why were the results not merely suspended pending investigation instead of being summarily annulled?

OUR POSITION

Even if urgency justified immediate intervention, the proportionate constitutional response was to preserve the status quo by temporarily suspending recognition of any disputed results, securing all election materials and referring the disputes for investigation.

Urgency could justify preservation.

It could not justify prejudgment.

The National Steering Committee could preserve the dispute pending investigation; it could not convert urgency into final electoral jurisdiction by annulling elections before hearing the affected parties.

OUR DEMANDS

We respectfully demand that the National Leadership:

1. Immediately retract the communiqué annulling the Ashanti Regional Constituency Executive Elections.
2. Suspend the implementation of the annulment pending constitutional review.
3. State the precise constitutional provisions relied upon in issuing the annulment.
4. Provide the complaints, evidence and findings relating to every affected constituency.
5. Produce any court orders or legal directives relied upon.
6. Make available the attendance records, quorum, minutes and formal resolutions of the National Steering Committee meeting.
7. Confirm that the decision has been reported to and considered by the National Executive Committee as required by the Constitution.
8. Preserve all ballots, result sheets, registers, tally forms, recordings and all election materials.
9. Afford every affected candidate, Regional Officer and Election Supervisor a full hearing before any further decision is taken.
10. Refer the matter to the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, the Electoral Affairs Committee, the National Executive Committee and, if necessary, the National Council for constitutional determination.

CONCLUSION

This petition is not merely about the Ashanti Regional elections. It concerns the supremacy of the Party’s Constitution and the integrity of the Party’s internal democratic processes.

The delegates exercised their constitutional mandate. The Regional Supervising Officers performed their constitutional responsibilities. Chairman Wontumi, as Regional Chairman, merely recognised that mandate by administering the oath of office to duly elected officers in the absence of any lawful directive restraining him from doing so.

No organ of the Party, however important, should exercise powers beyond those conferred by the Constitution or condemn members before affording them a fair hearing.

Accordingly, we respectfully call upon the National Leadership to immediately retract the communiqué, restore confidence in the Party’s constitutional processes and ensure that any disputes arising from the Constituency Executive Elections are resolved only after a fair, transparent and constitutionally compliant process.

Respectfully submitted.

Signed

Fred Appiah
0244155584
Convener
Grassroots Patriotic Alliance