New Patriotic Party

New Patriotic Party
Twi: Ahofama Foforo Kuw
LeaderNana Akufo-Addo
ChairmanStephen Ayensu Ntim[1]
General SecretaryJustin Frimpong-Kodua[1]
Founded28 July 1992
Preceded byUGCC, United Party(UP), Progress Party
HeadquartersAccra, Ghana
Student wingTESCON
Youth wingNPP Youth Wing
Muslim wingNasara
Women's WingNPP Women's Wing
IdeologyLiberal conservatism
Conservatism[2]
Liberalism[3]
Political positionCentre-right
Regional affiliationDemocrat Union of Africa
International affiliationInternational Democracy Union[4]
Colors     
Red, White, Blue
SloganDevelopment in Freedom
Parliament
137 / 275
Pan African Parliament
2 / 5
Election symbol
African Elephant
Party flag
Website
newpatrioticparty.org
Danquah-Dombo-Busia Tradition

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a centre-right and liberal-conservative political party in Ghana.[5][6][7] Since the democratisation of Ghana in 1992, it has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghanaian politics, with its leading rival being the centre-left National Democratic Congress (NDC).[8][9] John Kufuor of the NPP was President of Ghana from 2001 to 2009.[10][11] At the elections held on 7 December 2004, the party won 129 out of 230 seats.[10] The NPP candidate was Kufuor, who was re-elected as president with 52.75% of the vote. The New Patriotic Party symbol is the African elephant and the New Patriotic Party colours are red, white, and blue.

In the 2008 general election, the NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo conceded to losing in the closely contested presidential election runoff amidst accusations of vote rigging, with Akufo-Addo receiving 49.77% of the votes, versus 50.23% for John Atta Mills, the NDC candidate. In the 2012 general election, the NPP faced a similar situation from vote results provided by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC). Nana Akufo-Addo received 47.74% of the vote, while NDC candidate John Mahama received 50.7% amidst accusations of electoral fraud.[12] Akufo-Addo was chosen as the NPP's candidate for a third time in the 2016 elections and defeated Mahama in the first round (winning 53.83% of the votes).[13]

2nd President of the New Patriotic Party, John Agyekum Kufuor at the 33rd G8 summit in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany (Kufuor in front, second from the left)

The New Patriotic Party has so far contested every national general election in Ghana since the commencement of the fourth republic in 1992, with the exception of the parliamentary elections of 1992.[14] The New Patriotic boycotted the 1992 parliamentary elections, alleging that the 1992 presidential election held earlier was rigged. The New Patriotic Party wrote a book title 'Stolen Verdict' to register its protest against the 1992 presidential election.[15]

The New Patriotic Party is considered as an offshoot of the United Gold Coast Convention, which effectively evolved into the United Party in the late 1950s, the Progress Party in the late 1960s, the Popular Front Party in the 1970s and the All People's Party in the early 1980s.New Patriotic Party, Biography

After more than a decade of military rule by Jerry John Rawlings, the government, along with some stakeholders, drafted a constitution for which a Referendum election was organized. After the people of Ghana approved the new constitution in an election (held on 28 April 1992), the ban on party politics in Ghana was lifted, allowing other parties including the NPP to be officially launched. The NPP's flagbearer was Professor Albert Adu Boahen, a scholar and a long-time critic of the Rawlings military government. However, the NPP lost the 1992 election overwhelmingly to the Progressive alliance of the National Democratic Congress, Eagle and the National Convention Party whose candidate was Jerry John Rawlings. The NPP boycotted the parliamentary elections and hence won no seats in the new Parliament.[16]

The NPP also lost the 1996 elections again to Rawlings' party but this time, their flagbearer was John Kufuor. In the 2000 and 2004 elections, John Kufuor won both elections ushering in a new government for the first time in the fourth republic of Ghana.

  1. ^ a b Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.21526729 Archived 17 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Ghana News Agency, 17 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022
  2. ^ Mensah, Kobby (2010), "Political marketing in Ghana", Global Political Marketing, Routledge, p. 190
  3. ^ Hartmann, Jürgen (2011), Staat und Regime im Orient und in Afrika: Regionenporträts und Länderstudien (in German), VS Verlag, p. 343
  4. ^ "Members | International Democracy Union". 1 February 2018.
  5. ^ Online, Peace FM. "Shatta Wale Sends Message To NPP Over E-Levy Bill (VIDEO)". Peacefmonline - Ghana news. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  6. ^ "'NPP tradition must go on' - Hopeson Adorye defends choice of Alan". GhanaWeb. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Journalist attacked for filming altercation at NPP constituency election at Ajumako - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  8. ^ Kumasi (5 October 2012). "NPP Has Track Record… of protecting the public purse, says Nana Addo". The Chronicle. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.
  9. ^ "NPP isn't currently effective, its leadership must be changed - Charles Bissue". GhanaWeb. 15 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Ghana's 'gentle giant' re-elected". BBC. 10 December 2004.
  11. ^ FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2000". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Ghana election: John Mahama declared winner". BBC. 10 December 2012.
  13. ^ "New Patriotic Party, Biography". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  14. ^ "NPP's boycott of 1992 parliamentary elections was a mistake - Hackman". GhanaWeb. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  15. ^ Party, New Patriotic (1992). The Stolen Verdict: Ghana November 1992 Presidential Election. New Patriotic Party.
  16. ^ Oquaye, Mike (1995). "The Ghanaian Elections of 1992--A Dissenting View". African Affairs. 94 (375): 259–275. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098809. ISSN 0001-9909. JSTOR 723781.