Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been chosen by the delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), reposing overwhelming confidence in him as the man with exemplary humility and integrity and a demonstrable track record in governance, to lead the party into the 2028 general election.
He won the Saturday, 31st January 2026, presidential primary of the main opposition party with 110,643 votes, representing 56.48% of the total valid votes cast.
Official results collated by the Electoral Commission showed that Dr Bawumia secured a clear majority of the 195,901 valid votes cast in the nationwide election.
Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong placed second with 46,554 votes (23.76%), while Dr Bryan Acheampong placed third with 36,303 votes (18.53%).
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum placed fourth with 1,999 votes (1.02), and Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong placed fifth after polling 402 votes (0.21%).
In all, 196,462 votes were cast, with 561 ballots rejected, according to the figures released by the Electoral Commission.
Dr Bawumia was formally declared the winner later Saturday evening at the NPP’s headquarters in Accra.
Incident-free primary
The presidential primary, conducted at designated polling centres across the country, was largely peaceful, with no major incidents recorded by party officials and security agencies.
About Bawumia
Dr Bawumia, 62, served two terms as Vice-President of Ghana from January 7, 2017, to January 6, 2025.
As an economist, he previously worked at the Bank of Ghana, where he rose to the position of Deputy Governor before entering active politics.
He was the running mate to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 general elections and played a key role in the party’s economic messaging in both opposition and government.
As Vice-President, Dr Bawumia led several digitalisation initiatives, including the national digital address system, mobile money interoperability and the paperless port system, aimed at expanding financial inclusion.
He also spearheaded Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme that ensured the Bank of Ghana bought gold with the local currency, the cedi, for the Gold Reserve at the central bank and the Gold for Oil (G4O) programme that eased pressure on the cedi.
His victory has given him another opportunity to lead the NPP again into the 2028 general election after leading the party into the last one in 2024.
Dr Bawumia has pledged to unite the party after what has been described as a highly tempestuous campaign ahead of the presidential primary to clinch the party’s nomination in the December 7, 2028, polls.
