NPP General Secretary race: Kodua supervised worse election defeat, must be voted out — Boakye Antwi

New Patriotic Party (NPP) General Secretary aspirant Eugene Boakye-Antwi has called for a change in the position, arguing that the position should not be retained by a General Secretary who presides over an electoral defeat.

The former Member of Parliament said the NPP cannot afford to retain a General Secretary under whose tenure the party suffered significant losses in both the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Boakye-Antwi made the remarks on Accra-based Metro TV’s Good Afternoon Ghana programme on Tuesday, September 1, while making a case for his election as the party’s next chief scribe.

He argued that the party’s tradition has been to replace General Secretaries who supervise unsuccessful general elections.

“No General Secretary in our tradition since 1992 who had lost a general election has asked to be retained and accepted. Every General Secretary who has lost a general election has been changed. It’s as simple as that," he stated.

Boakye-Antwi also pointed to the NPP’s parliamentary performance under the current General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, as a major reason for the need for change.

He noted that the NPP lost 50 parliamentary seats in the 2024 general elections, leaving the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

According to him, the parliamentary elections should be a major focus for the party’s General Secretary because of the relationship between parliamentary control and the formation of government in Ghana.

“You are in charge of all the parliamentary elections and stuff, and the election is twofold. Now the parliamentary election and the presidential election. Presidential election will be coordinated by Dr. Bawumia and his team. The parliamentary election is what the party really works on or focuses on," he explained.

Boakye-Antwi is contesting the position against the incumbent, Justin Kodua Frimpong, and former lawmaker Sylvester Tetteh.

However, a recent poll conducted by Global InfoAnalytics puts Mr Kodua Frimpong ahead of his challengers as he seeks to retain the position in the party’s October 3 national executive elections.

The contest forms part of the NPP’s efforts to reorganise its leadership and rebuild the party ahead of the 2028 general elections.