Kwabena Agyei Agyepong is aspiring to be the flagbearer of the NPP
Aspiring Presidential flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party ( NPP) and Former General Secretary, Ing Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, has issued an emotional and urgent plea to Ghana’s political establishment to end the violent politics that have turned by-elections into battlefields.
In a powerful open letter addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, the leadership of the NDC and NPP, the Electoral Commission, the Peace Council, and civil society, Mr Agyepong warned that the nation’s democracy is at risk of being permanently scarred if leaders do not act now.
“We have witnessed by-elections develop into scenes of fear, aggression and needless damage to lives and property,” he wrote, citing bloody flashpoints from Atiwa and Chereponi to Akwatia and Ayawaso West Wuogon.
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The most recent reminder, he said, came in July 2025 during the Ablekuma North polling station rerun, which saw “state-linked forces, law enforcement hesitation, and targeted attacks”, all too familiar hallmarks of a dangerous political culture.
A dangerous cycle
“These are not distant memories but part of a disturbing, recurring cycle. This can no longer continue while we grow numb,” he declared, adding that democracy “cannot flourish amid fear, violence and impunity.”
The Agyepong proposal
To break this cycle, Agyepong is proposing a radical shift: when an MP’s seat becomes vacant, the party holding the seat should simply select a successor internally, no by-election, no political flashpoints.
“This approach saves public resources, protects lives, and thwarts the escalating cycle of partisan violence. It offers us an opportunity to nurture consensus-building among political actors,” he argued.
Beyond partisanship, a national imperative
Urging leaders to think beyond party colours, he reminded them that Ghana is “stronger than our worst moments” and that its people are “the hopes in every rural classroom, every urban market, every unemployed graduate seeking opportunity.”
“Let us break this destructive cycle together, not with empty speeches, but with courageous, consensual reform. Our legacy and the future of our people depend on it,” he added.
Political observers believe Agyepong’s proposal could ignite one of the most important electoral reform debates in the country’s history, and perhaps decide whether Ghana’s next elections are remembered for peace or pain.
