Election Watch Ghana has raised concerns over growing campaign tensions and divisive rhetoric ahead of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential primaries scheduled for January 2026, warning that emerging trends could undermine party values and Ghana’s democratic stability.
In a statement dated November 24, 2025, the civil society group acknowledged the NPP’s historical role in shaping Ghana’s political and economic development but cautioned that current campaign conduct by some aspirants risks eroding those gains.
The organisation noted that leadership contests in the modern political environment should be determined by quality ideas, innovation, and clear policy direction, particularly in an era marked by digital transformation and a growing Gen Z population with different political expectations.
Election Watch Ghana urged candidates to focus their campaigns on governance, economic policy, and technological development rather than personalised attacks and identity-based messaging.
However, the group expressed worry that recent campaign rhetoric had taken on an ethnocentric tone, especially in parts of the Eastern, Northern and Volta Regions, where tensions could easily escalate.
According to the statement, some aspirants have made comments linking leadership capability to ethnic background, a development the group said threatens national cohesion and contradicts democratic principles.
It also observed a shift in campaign strategy by some supporters toward mobilising along ethnic and emotional lines instead of engaging in issue-based political debate.
“These trends threaten to make the January primaries one of the most tense and security-challenged elections in the NPP’s history,” the group warned.
Election Watch Ghana therefore called on aspirants, party supporters and leadership to restrain inflammatory rhetoric and refocus the campaign on policy-driven engagement.
The group further appealed to the Election Security Task Force of the Ghana Police Service to treat the NPP primaries as a national security concern rather than a routine party exercise.
It urged security agencies to ensure a peaceful environment that allows candidates to campaign freely and fairly based on the strength of their ideas and vision for the party and the country.
The statement was also copied to the National Security Council, the Ghana Police Service and the party’s leadership.
Election Watch Ghana concluded by reaffirming its commitment to monitoring the process and advocating for peaceful, transparent and credible elections.
“It emphasised that elections must be contests of policy and ideas, not battlegrounds for intimidation and division,” the group said.
