The Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Presidential Elections Committee, Joe Osei Owusu, has raised concerns about the possibility of aspirants deploying private security personnel to voting centres during the party’s upcoming presidential primaries.
Speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the security agencies at the Police Headquarters in Accra on Thursday, Mr Osei Owusu said the committee was determined to prevent any security arrangements outside official state control during the exercise, scheduled for January 30, 2026.
He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to deploy an adequate number of armed officers to all voting centres to secure the process, stressing that a strong police presence would help maintain order and deter any attempt by candidates to introduce private or unauthorised security at polling venues.
“Mr IGP, our main fear is to avoid a situation where any of our contestants attempts to take security into their own hands. We hope that after today’s meeting, we will be firm and agree on the number of police officers you may propose for each constituency. In particular, we may request ahead of time that each constituency has an armed patrol team. We believe that if we leave our security in your hands, we will have a free and fair election,” he said.
Mr Osei Owusu emphasised that only the Ghana Police Service would be responsible for security on the day of the primaries.
“Only the Ghana Police Service has exclusive jurisdiction over election-day security. Nobody else—no group and no private or unauthorised security—will be permitted at any voting centre,” he stated.
He explained that while accredited representatives of the various candidates and Electoral Commission officials would be granted access to the centres, all other individuals would be required to remain outside the designated security perimeters.
The NPP is expected to elect its flagbearer ahead of the 2028 general elections, with more than 214,000 delegates set to participate in the primaries across all 16 regions on Friday, January 30, 2026.
The candidates contesting the race include former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; former Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong; former Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum; Bryan Acheampong; and Engineer Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.