Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a member of Kennedy Agyapong’s Communications Team, has cautioned that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) risks concentrating too much power in the hands of a single individual if it proceeds with electing a flagbearer before conducting other critical internal elections.
His comments follow the party’s announcement to hold early presidential primaries in January 2026, an effort the leadership says is intended to resolve internal divisions and position the party as a united front ahead of the 2028 General Elections.
While party executives argue that early primaries will promote unity, Dr. Boakye-Danquah contends that bypassing elections for other key positions, such as National Chairman, could undermine internal democracy and fairness.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, June 21, he emphasised that the internal election process must be approached holistically, with the polling station and national executive elections preceding the flagbearer contest.
He warned that electing a flagbearer first would give that person undue influence over subsequent leadership selections.
“There are people that are interested in contesting the National Elections, from Chiarmanship right up to Nasara Coordinator. You will disenfranchise those people if you don’t give them an opportunity. If you make the argument that the only vacancy in the party now is the flagbearership, you lose sight of the fact that you are wanting to create a monster at the top.
“If you select a flagbearer first, the flagbearer now has an opportunity to decide who becomes the Chairman because of power and influence. If the person does not utilise the power and influence well and we have seen this in politics. We know that politics is about power and influence. We cannot win an election like that,” he stated.
He concluded by recommending that the NPP prioritise polling station elections in the third or fourth quarter of the year, before turning to the flagbearership race.
