The New Patriotic Party has taken a decisive step to safeguard internal cohesion as all five presidential aspirants signed a peace pact committing to unity, discipline, and support for the eventual winner ahead of the party’s January 31, 2026, presidential primaries.
The signatories are former Assin Central MP Kennedy Ohene Agyapong; Abetifi MP and former Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong; former Vice-President and 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; Bosomtwe MP and former Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum; and former NPP General Secretary and Presidential Press Secretary, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.
While Dr Acheampong and Dr Adutwum are contesting for the first time, Mr Agyepong is making his third bid after previous attempts in 2007 and 2023. Mr Ohene Agyapong and Dr Bawumia are both seeking a second chance, following their participation in the 2023 primaries, which Dr Bawumia won.
Addressing the ceremony, NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said the pact reflects the party’s determination to ensure a transparent and peaceful contest.
“The peace pact ensures that all candidates actively participate at every stage and accept the results of the January 31 primaries. It also commits all aspirants to maintain party cohesion and support the winner in the 2028 general elections,” he said.
The pact binds the aspirants to accept the results as “a valid and binding expression of the will of the party’s delegates,” promote unity before and after the primaries, and refrain from actions or rhetoric that could undermine party harmony. Any breaches, it states, will be handled through internal dispute resolution mechanisms.
Former President Nana Akufo-Addo cautioned aspirants against allowing ambition to fracture the party, stressing that the agreement was far more than symbolism. “This peace pact, this commitment pact, is therefore not a mere ceremony,” he said, describing it as “a solemn covenant” ensuring that “once the ballot has spoken, the party will move forward as one.”
He warned that their conduct would “shape the moral tone of the NPP and the future of our country.”
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin echoed the call for renewal, urging the party to return as “a renewed, united, serious alternative.”
He stressed that leadership must be rooted in service, not ego, adding: “The country does not need leaders who are prisoners of their egos. It needs leaders who are servants of the Republic.” He called for an end to personal attacks, rejection of violence and ethnic incitement, and strict enforcement of the pact.
“Let this peace pact be more than ink and handshakes,” he urged.
