A group of aggrieved members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Akyem Swedru Constituency in the Eastern Region has resorted to traditional rituals to protest what they describe as the unlawful appointment of party executives ahead of the NPP’s National Annual Delegates Conference in Kumasi.
The group, calling itself concerned members of the NPP in Akyem Swedru, claims that a court injunction has prevented the conduct of polling station and constituency elections in the area.
According to them, no duly elected polling station or constituency executives therefore exist, yet some individuals are allegedly occupying such positions and preparing to represent the constituency at the national conference.
The NPP is scheduled to hold its National Annual Delegates Conference in Kumasi on Saturday, October 3, 2026, to elect new national officers and consider proposed amendments to the party’s constitution.
The aggrieved members visited the Birim River at Akyem Aduasa, where they performed traditional rituals and invoked curses against the party’s regional and national executives over what they consider a failure to resolve the dispute.
They said the action followed several complaints and petitions to the party’s leadership, which they claim have not yielded the desired intervention.
The group wants the NPP leadership to prevent the disputed executives from participating in the Kumasi conference until the constituency’s internal electoral issues are resolved.
Kwame Kwakye, an organiser at the Apenkwa polling station in Aduasa, insisted that no polling station or constituency elections had been conducted in Akyem Swedru.
“I am the organiser of Apenkwa electoral area and I can say with all authority that we have not conducted any election in Akyem Swedru as far as NPP is concerned and no one has been elected as a constituency executive,” he said.
Kwame Kwakye, organiser, Apenkwa polling station in Aduasa
Mr Kwakye alleged that elections had not been held at any of the 53 polling stations in the constituency.
He further claimed that his name had been replaced as polling station organiser despite the absence of an election to determine his successor.
“We will not sit and allow anyone to claim the constituency as his bona fide property,” he said, explaining that the matter had already been reported to the party’s regional and national executives.
The group alleges that some individuals linked to the Member of Parliament for Akyem Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, have been selected to occupy party positions without going through the established electoral process.
It further claims that the alleged appointees were allowed to participate in the recent regional elections in Koforidua and are being lined up to represent Akyem Swedru at the national conference.
The NPP constituency chairman for Akyem Swedru, Dominic Fobi, has also criticised the party’s regional and national leadership over its handling of the matter.
Mr Fobi said he had informed and petitioned the relevant party authorities but is disappointed that no decisive action had been taken.
Dominic Fobi, NPP constituency chairman, Akyem Swedru Constituency
He confirmed that, to his knowledge, no elections had been conducted to elect polling station or constituency executives because of the court injunction.
“I have been a member of the Danquah-Dombo-Bussia family since childhood. I have held key positions including constituency organiser, first and second vice-chairman and constituency chairman for the past 16 years, and I know how democratic, fair and transparent the NPP has conducted its internal elections,” he said.
Mr Fobi maintained that the alleged injunction is known to the NPP’s Eastern Regional Chairman, Jeff Kunadu Addo, as well as the party’s national leadership.
He therefore questioned how individuals could be recognised as executives when the constituency had allegedly not gone through the required elections.
Mr Fobi accused Kennedy Osei Nyarko of allegedly handpicking individuals to occupy party positions at both the polling station and constituency levels.
He alleged that the appointments are connected to the MP’s political ambitions and future contest of the parliamentary primary.
“As far as I know, there is a court injunction on Akyem Swedru NPP constituency elections which the regional chairman, Jeff Kunadu Addo, and the national executives are aware. So, we have not gone to the polls to elect anyone as polling station or constituency executives,” he alleged.
Mr Fobi further claimed that the disputed individuals were subsequently recognised within the party structure and allowed to vote in the regional elections in Koforidua.
He questioned the basis on which individuals could participate in internal elections as representatives of a constituency that, according to him, had not conducted its own elections.
Mr Fobi also alleged that he had been replaced as constituency chairman without an election.
“As I speak, he has appointed someone else to take my position as chairman without elections, and this person, including other people appointed as constituency executives, are preparing to participate in the National Annual Delegates Conference in Kumasi,” he claimed.
He said the party’s leadership should clarify the eligibility of the disputed individuals before allowing them to participate in the election of national officers.
Mr Fobi questioned whether allowing individuals to occupy elected positions without a formal election is consistent with the NPP’s stated commitment to democratic principles and the rule of law.
The constituency chairman also accused the MP of allegedly being intolerant of opposing views within the party and claimed that internal divisions had negatively affected the NPP’s electoral performance in Akyem Swedru.
He urged the party’s national leadership to examine the constituency’s election results over the years as part of efforts to strengthen its grassroots structures.
“The MP’s dislike for opposite views in the party has hugely affected our vote margins,” he alleged.
Mr Fobi called for steps to restore unity within the constituency and strengthen the party’s structures ahead of future elections.
The aggrieved members are demanding that the NPP’s regional and national leadership clarify the status of the disputed executives before the National Annual Delegates Conference.
They want the party to establish who has the legitimate mandate to represent Akyem Swedru and ensure that future polling station and constituency elections are conducted in accordance with the party’s rules and any applicable court orders.
The dispute comes days before the NPP’s National Annual Delegates Conference in Kumasi, where new national officers are expected to be elected and constitutional amendments considered.
The key issues—including the existence and scope of the alleged court injunction, the status of the disputed executives and their eligibility to participate in the national conference—remain subject to clarification by the NPP’s regional and national leadership.
By 1960news.com
