Flagbearer race: Proxy voting ban unfair and unlawful – NPP USA Chair

Chairperson of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) USA branch, Yaa Frimpomaa Amponsah, has strongly criticised the party’s decision to maintain the ban on proxy voting ahead of the 2026 presidential primaries.

Her comments follow the announcement by the NPP Presidential Elections Committee that all delegates must be physically present on voting day, despite numerous petitions urging a reversal of the ban.

Amponsah argued in an interview on Citi Eyewitness News on Friday, November 21, that proxy voting is a lawful provision under Ghana’s electoral regulations and should not be sidelined for administrative convenience.

According to her, Regulation 25 of CI 127 clearly outlines who qualifies for proxy voting, including persons who are sick, vulnerable, disabled, or unable to be present due to circumstances beyond their control.

“Our position is simple. Proxy is a feature of an election that is enshrined in our laws.

The framers of our laws and constitution were very clear that vulnerability can cause someone not to participate in the democratic process, so they made safeguards to protect such people,” she said.

She stressed that no internal committee has the authority to override laws governing Ghana’s elections, adding that the party risks disenfranchising loyal members who, by law, qualify to vote by proxy.

Amponsah further argued that protecting the integrity of the election requires adherence to the country’s electoral statutes, not the convenience of party committees.

She noted that many delegates living abroad, those in school, and individuals who have served the party faithfully may be unable to travel to their polling centres but still deserve the right to vote.

“For you to sacrifice the statute on the altar of convenience, it has to protect the sanctity of what you are doing—not the sanctity of the people, the state, those who have travelled, those who are in school. They have the right under the law to exercise the franchise given to them.

I think the committee is doing those people a disservice,” she added.

Her comments contrast with the position of the Presidential Elections Committee, chaired by Joe Osei Owusu, which insists that maintaining the ban is necessary to ensure a transparent and incident-free election. The decision means all eligible delegates must vote in person in the 2026 presidential primaries.

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Source: CitiNewsRoom