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The Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Canada Branch, Samuel Yaw Asirifi, has petitioned the Chairman of the NPP 2026 Presidential Elections Committee, Joseph Osei Owusu, alleging a fraudulent inclusion of unqualified names in the branch’s voter register for the January 31, 2026, presidential primaries.
In a petition dated September 30, 2025, he raised concerns about the Chairperson’s alleged unilateral actions in registering individuals who are not legitimate members of the NPP Canada Branch.
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“I wish to bring your attention to the inclusion of past Chapter Executives and other individuals occupying no Branch positions in the registration of additional delegates for the upcoming NPP Presidential Primaries, orchestrated by the Chairperson of the NPP Canada Branch, executed by the appointed Officer in Charge of Research and Elections directed by the Chairperson to enter the data on the Party’s platform earmarked for this registration exercise,” part of the petition said.
The secretary explained that on September 9, 2025, the Branch Chairperson announced the formation of a four-member committee to compile a list of former branch executives without consulting the elected steering committee.
The petition noted that the committee consisted of individuals openly supporting one presidential aspirant, a matter that was challenged by some executives but not addressed.
Following an emergency executive meeting held on September 13, 2025, the list presented contained 34 names.
After verification, only 14 were found to be legitimate past branch executives who served between 2014 and 2022, and they were unanimously approved.
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However, the Secretary revealed that 20 other names, identified as past executives of the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver Chapters, were also added to the register.
These individuals, he said, served before the official establishment of the NPP Canada Branch in 2014 and therefore do not qualify under the current constitutional provisions.
He argued that their inclusion “Contravenes Article 13 (1)(11) of the NPP Constitution and the motion on transitional provisions recently adopted at the National Annual Delegates Conference held in Accra on July 19, 2025.”
The petition further mentioned the addition of two individual, Vanessa Otuo-Acheampong and Mohammed Tofik Issah, listed as Deputy Youth Organisers and Deputy Nasara Coordinator, respectively.
According to the Secretary, these positions do not exist within the branch structure.
“It is therefore fraudulent to see such positions being filled with individuals who have not been appointed to occupy such positions,” he wrote.
The Secretary emphasised that, according to guidelines issued by the NPP’s Director of IT on September 6, 2025, all delegate inclusion forms must be endorsed by both the Branch Chairperson and Secretary before being uploaded to the registration platform.
He confirmed that only 14 forms were duly signed, questioning how the additional names were approved without authorization.
He also disclosed being denied access to the registration portal until September 26, 2025, “After the intervention of our Party General Secretary, Justin Frimpong-Kodua and William Yamoah, Secretary to the Presidential Election Committee.”
“As the Branch Administrator and the Custodian of the Branch Records, it is my considered opinion that there is a deliberate orchestration by some Executives to rig the process by including former Chapter Executives and other illegitimate individuals who do not occupy any current positions in the Branch,” the petition noted.
The NPP Canada Branch Secretary appealed to the Presidential Elections Committee to delete the names of the 20 past chapter executives and the two unrecognized individuals from the voter register.
“I hereby pray your esteemed Presidential Election Committee to resolve this by removing the names of past Chapter Executives as captured in item (4) as well as Vanessa Otuo-Acheampong and Mohammed Tofik Issah in item (9), who have been fraudulently captured as Deputy Youth Organizer and Deputy Nasara Coordinators respectively. This I believe will ensure the compilation of free, fair and credible electoral register for the upcoming NPP Presidential Primaries.”
Read the full petition below:
JKB/AM
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