{"id":48616,"date":"2026-01-28T04:23:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=48616"},"modified":"2026-07-05T15:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T15:18:10","slug":"osei-owusu-urges-voters-to-vote-and-leave-as-npp-chairman-reflects-on-ddeps-impact-on-middle-class-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2026\/01\/28\/osei-owusu-urges-voters-to-vote-and-leave-as-npp-chairman-reflects-on-ddeps-impact-on-middle-class-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Osei Owusu Urges Voters to \u201cVote and Leave\u201d as NPP Chairman Reflects on DDEP\u2019s Impact on Middle-Class Support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Chairman of the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) Presidential Elections Committee, Joseph Osei Owusu, has emphasised strict electoral conduct for the party\u2019s upcoming presidential primaries, urging delegates to vote and immediately leave polling centres to ensure peaceful and orderly proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Osei Owusu said the directive is part of the party\u2019s internal rules for the January 31, 2026 presidential candidate selection process. He highlighted that no group gatherings, communal waiting areas, or post-voting gatherings will be permitted at polling locations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn our party\u2019s rules, one thing we have insisted on is that on that day, we will not expect any group to congregate anywhere. You walk in, vote and leave,\u201d Mr. Osei Owusu stated, emphasising that the measure is designed to prevent disorder and maintain the integrity of the voting process.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The directive also discourages bussing delegates between centres and prohibits any form of group assembly under sheds or canopies while elections are underway.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reflecting on 2024 defeat \u2014 DDEP and middle class disenchantment<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. Osei Owusu also addressed the New Patriotic Party\u2019s performance in the 2024 general elections, acknowledging that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) had a significant political impact, particularly on Ghana\u2019s middle-class voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He admitted that the party had underestimated the extent to which the DDEP \u2014 a government initiative aimed at restructuring Ghana\u2019s domestic debt \u2014 would influence voter sentiment. \u201cWe underestimated it; I particularly underestimated it,\u201d he said, referring to the visible discontent among affected groups, especially middle-class professionals who were hit hard by the programme\u2019s economic consequences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. Osei Owusu suggested that the resulting visible public dissatisfaction and protests should have served as a stronger indicator of growing voter discontent ahead of the elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite these challenges, he reiterated the party\u2019s commitment to regroup and rebuild in preparation for future elections, stressing the importance of analysing lessons from the past electoral cycle to strengthen public confidence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The NPP will now focus on concluding its presidential primaries with rigorous adherence to internal electoral rules and a strategic effort to recover and broaden its support base.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chairman of the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) Presidential Elections Committee, Joseph Osei Owusu, has emphasised strict electoral conduct for the party\u2019s upcoming presidential primaries, urging delegates to vote and immediately leave polling centres to ensure peaceful and orderly proceedings. Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Osei Owusu said the directive is part of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":48617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1],"tags":[7489,6725,8857,9418,3577,192,2264,5910,11493,4474,2035,11377,11625,10599,594],"class_list":["post-48616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-chairman","tag-debt","tag-debt-exchange","tag-domestic-debt-exchange-programme-ddep","tag-future","tag-ghana","tag-government","tag-initiative","tag-interview","tag-joseph-osei-owusu","tag-new-patriotic-party-npp","tag-presidential","tag-professionals","tag-rebuild","tag-who"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48616"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48618,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48616\/revisions\/48618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}