GAMLS Leadership Race 2026: Who Will Wear The Mantle Of The Next Generation?

The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) has entered a consequential leadership transition, with elections at both the regional and national levels shaping the next phase of the Association as Accra set to host Annual National Electoral Congress.

While the regional elections are currently ongoing, attention is increasingly turning to the national contest following the opening of nominations for national executive positions on August 24, 2026.

The national elections will determine who occupies the four principal executive positions — President, Vice President, General Secretary and Financial Secretary.

But this year’s contest is different from an ordinary leadership election.

It is, in many respects, a succession election.

The GAMLS Constitution does not permit the incumbent General Secretary, Dr. Kwashie Solomon Dzidzornu Yao, to seek another term after serving three consecutive terms. The same constitutional limit applies to the incumbent Financial Secretary, Dr. Jennifer Adoley Baffoe, who has also exhausted her tenure.

The consequence is clear:
GAMLS must produce new leadership for two of its key executive offices.

At the same time, the current President, Dr. Eric Kofi Aidoo, remains constitutionally eligible for another term and is expected to seek re-election.

The contest is therefore shaping up around an interesting balance between continuity at the presidency and succession at the General Secretary and Financial Secretary positions.

The ongoing regional elections add another important dimension. The regional executives who emerge from this process will form a critical part of the Association’s grassroots leadership and will ultimately operate within the broader national leadership structure.

Their choices, networks and understanding of the concerns of members at regional and facility levels could therefore influence the national conversation as campaigning intensifies.

THE GENERAL SECRETARY BATTLE
The General Secretary position is already attracting attention.

Among the first to publicly signal his intention is Dr. Paul Ntiamoah, Laboratory Manager at St. Elizabeth Hospital, Hwidiem.

Dr. Ntiamoah brings nearly two decades of professional experience and says his service at facility, district, regional and national levels — including participation on the National Executive Council — has given him a broad understanding of the profession and its challenges.

His campaign message is built around four principles:

Integrity. Transparency. Unity. Progress.
He has presented himself as a candidate prepared to assume greater responsibility and strengthen GAMLS’ collective voice while advancing the professional and welfare interests of members.

But Dr. Ntiamoah is not alone.
Dr. George Kwaku Darko has also declared his intention to contest the General Secretary position.

Dr. Darko describes himself as “Grass Root Oriented, Advocate and Innovative Thinker.”

His declaration places emphasis on consolidating the gains of previous administrations while introducing practical and innovative initiatives to strengthen GAMLS structures and create lasting value for members.

His campaign message is equally direct:
“Leadership through Service. Unity through Action. Progress through Innovation.”

The General Secretary race could therefore develop into a contest between different leadership propositions — experience and institutional knowledge on one hand, and grassroots orientation, advocacy and innovation on the other.

But with nominations still open, it would be premature to declare the race a two-horse contest.

Other aspirants may yet emerge.
A VACANT OFFICE IS NOT AN EMPTY OFFICE
The significance of the General Secretary election should not be underestimated.

The office is central to the administrative machinery of GAMLS.

The next General Secretary will inherit an established institution with its own history, structures, obligations and expectations.

That person will have to coordinate national administration, facilitate communication between the executive and members, support implementation of decisions and help translate policy into organisational action.

The question therefore cannot simply be:
Who is popular?
It must be:
Who can actually run the institution?
GAMLS needs a General Secretary who understands both the profession and the mechanics of organisational leadership.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY SUCCESSION
The Financial Secretary position is also entering a potentially competitive transition.

The incumbent, Dr. Jennifer Adoley, has constitutionally completed her allowable tenure and cannot seek another term.

That makes the financial portfolio another open contest.

Dr. Angela Nyuiemedi Addo has already declared her intention to contest.

Her declaration presents her as “Practical, Trustworthy & Dependable,” with the campaign identity “The Finance General.”

Her emphasis on practical and dependable leadership is particularly relevant to an office where financial stewardship, accountability and member confidence are indispensable.

But there could be more contenders.
MLS Emmanuel Adzraku Gameli is also being mentioned as a possible candidate for Financial Secretary.

Gameli is not new to the contest. He previously attracted attention at the Sunyani Congress, where he contested the Financial Secretary position against the incumbent, Jennifer Adoley, but lost.

If he formally enters the 2026 race, his previous contest will give delegates an opportunity to compare his earlier campaign with his current proposition.

For now, however, his candidacy remains unconfirmed and should not be treated as a formal declaration until he submits himself to the official electoral process.

There are also reports that MLS Hephzibah Otchere-Baffour is considering a bid for the financial executive position.

Should both Gameli and Otchere-Baffour eventually formalise their intentions, the Financial Secretary race could become one of the most closely watched contests of the election.

THE PRESIDENTIAL QUESTION
While two important positions are becoming vacant by constitutional term limits, the presidency presents a different scenario.

The current President, Dr. Eric Kofi Aidoo, remains eligible for another term and is expected to seek re-election.

His potential return introduces an important question for delegates:

Do they want continuity at the top while welcoming new leadership into the other principal offices?

There is nothing inherently wrong with continuity.

Institutions sometimes need experienced leadership to preserve institutional memory, complete ongoing programmes and maintain stability.

But continuity should never become an automatic entitlement.

An incumbent seeking another mandate must still demonstrate what has been achieved, what remains unfinished and why members should entrust the presidency to him for another term.

The same standard must apply to every aspirant.

THE REGIONAL ELECTIONS: WHERE THE GRASSROOTS ARE BEING RESET

The ongoing regional elections deserve particular attention because they are not merely a preliminary exercise before the national polls.

They are an important component of GAMLS’ governance architecture.

Regional executives are the bridge between national leadership and members working across the various regions. They are closer to facility-level realities and are often the first point of contact when members encounter professional, administrative or welfare concerns.

The quality of the regional leadership emerging from the current elections will therefore matter.

A strong national executive cannot operate effectively without strong regional structures.

Conversely, energetic regional executives will require a national leadership capable of listening, coordinating and responding.

The regional elections are consequently setting the stage for the national contest.

They are also giving members an opportunity to assess leadership at the grassroots before the national ballot.

THE CONSTITUTION MUST SET THE RULES
Perhaps the most important feature of the 2026 GAMLS elections is the constitutional order governing succession.

The inability of Dr. Solomon Yao Kwashie and Dr. Jennifer Adoley to seek further terms is not a political defeat.

It is not a rejection by members.
It is the normal operation of constitutional term limits.

That distinction matters.
Healthy professional associations should not be built around permanent incumbency.

Leadership must have an exit point.
Term limits create space for institutional renewal, fresh ideas and the emergence of another generation of professional leaders.

The real test is whether the incoming leaders will build upon what their predecessors achieved rather than spending their tenure dismantling everything simply because somebody else built it.

CANDIDATES MUST GO BEYOND SLOGANS
As more candidates emerge, GAMLS members should demand substance.

“Unity” is good.
“Progress” is good.
“Innovation” is good.
“Transparency” is good.
But these are principles, not programmes.
Candidates must explain how they intend to translate them into measurable outcomes.

What will they do about professional advocacy?

How will GAMLS strengthen its engagement with regulators and policymakers?

How will the Association improve the welfare and career prospects of members?

How will it respond to challenges confronting medical laboratory scientists?

How will national leadership communicate more effectively with members?

How will financial accountability be strengthened?

How will the Association build stronger institutional systems that survive individual personalities?

These are the questions that should dominate the campaign.

THE CROWN MUST FOLLOW CAPACITY
When the ballots are finally counted on November 6, GAMLS will not merely be choosing individuals.

It will be choosing the direction of the Association.

The next General Secretary must be capable of administration.

The next Financial Secretary must command financial confidence.

The next President must provide strategic leadership.

And the entire executive must function as a team rather than as competing centres of personal influence.

The ongoing regional elections and the subsequent national elections should therefore be viewed as parts of one institutional process: renewing GAMLS leadership from the grassroots to the national level.

The outgoing leaders deserve recognition for the service they have rendered.

The incoming leaders, however, will not inherit a blank page.

They will inherit an institution built by generations of medical laboratory scientists.

Their responsibility will be to protect its gains, correct its weaknesses and expand its influence.

The GAMLS 2026 elections therefore present an opportunity for something greater than a change of names.

They present an opportunity for responsible succession, institutional renewal and a stronger professional voice.

The question before delegates is no longer simply:

“Who wants the position?”
It is:
“Who has the capacity, character and vision to serve the Association?”

That is the question the campaigns must answer.

And that is the standard by which the crown should ultimately be awarded.

— Kelly West is a Medical Laboratory Scientist, who writes.

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Michael Agbesi Kelly