Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ghana’s former vice president, clinched the New Patriotic Party’s presidential nomination Saturday with a commanding majority, securing more than half the vote in a five-way race and positioning himself as the opposition party’s candidate for the 2028 general election.
Dr. Bawumia, who served as vice president under Nana Akufo-Addo from 2017 to 2025 and was the NPP’s presidential candidate in the 2024 general election — which he lost to John Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress — captured 110,643 votes at the national collation center at NPP headquarters in Asylum Down, Accra, according to the party’s official declaration of results. That tally represented 56.48 percent of all valid votes cast, well above the threshold needed to win outright.
Former Food and Agriculture Minister Dr. Bryan Acheampong finished with 36,303 votes, or 18.53 percent. Former Assin Central legislator Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, finished with 46,554 votes, accounting for 23.76 percent of valid ballots.
The remaining two candidates posted marginal results. Former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum received 1,999 votes (1.02 percent), and former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyepong trailed with just 402 votes (0.21 percent).
A total of 195,901 valid votes were cast out of 196,462 total ballots, with 561 rejected. The results were declared and signed by Returning Officer Samuel Dottoh Kwamah at 7:50 p.m. local time Saturday.
The victory comes as the NPP regroups following its loss in the 2024 general elections, which ended the party’s eight-year stint in power. Bawumia had mounted an extensive campaign, touring all 276 of Ghana’s constituencies under the banner “Our Journey Together” in the months leading up to the primary.
Party officials and the Electoral Commission had organized voting at over 300 polling centers across the country, with approximately 211,849 delegates eligible to participate. Dr. Bawumia described the process as smooth and well-organized after casting his own ballot earlier in the day, praising the security arrangements put in place by the Inspector General of Police.
Source: A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith | Bolgatanga
