The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has introduced a mandatory GH¢2,000 declaration fee for all prospective parliamentary candidates, including incumbent Members of Parliament, seeking to contest the party’s parliamentary primaries ahead of the 2028 general elections.
The announcement was made by the party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, at a press conference on Thursday, describing the initiative as a pioneering step in Ghana’s political landscape.
According to him, the declaration process will run from November 1 to November 10, 2026, through the party’s designated online portal, allowing interested aspirants to formally signal their intention to contest before the opening of nominations.
Mr. Kodua Frimpong explained that the exercise is designed to enable the party to conduct preliminary eligibility checks on prospective candidates to ensure they satisfy both constitutional and legal requirements before entering the formal nomination stage.
“The party, as usual, has always been the pace setter. And this is the first time that we are doing something of this sort in our political dispensation,” he said.
He noted that the screening process would assess whether aspirants meet the conditions outlined in the NPP Constitution as well as the laws governing parliamentary candidature in Ghana.
“We also check the laws of our country to make sure that any person who intends to be nominated as our parliamentary candidate also meets the requirements set forth by the laws of our country,” he added.
The introduction of the declaration fee has sparked discussions about its potential impact on participation in the party’s internal electoral process, particularly among young people, women and aspirants from less affluent backgrounds.
Political observers have long expressed concerns about the growing influence of money in Ghanaian politics, with advocacy groups warning that increasing financial demands can discourage participation by women, young people and persons with disabilities.
Despite these concerns, party officials maintain that the declaration process is primarily intended to establish an orderly and transparent mechanism for verifying the eligibility of prospective candidates before nominations officially open.
The NPP also clarified that the declaration of intent does not amount to the commencement of campaigning.
“Declaration of intent does not mean that a person has the right to go around and campaign in various constituencies. We have still not opened nominations,” Mr. Kodua Frimpong stressed.
The party is expected to undertake a zoning exercise between November 1 and December 4, 2026, ahead of subsequent stages of the parliamentary primary process.
The new arrangement is expected to test the party’s efforts to streamline candidate selection while balancing concerns about accessibility and broad participation in its internal democratic processes as preparations begin for the 2028 general elections.