Paul Afoko says NPP is losing Ghana's young voters as he launches comeback bid

Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) chairman Paul Afoko has said his party is losing the support of young Ghanaians, arguing that the opposition must reconnect with a new generation of voters if it is to recover from its election defeat and return to power.

Mr Afoko, who is seeking to return as the party's national chairman more than a decade after his removal from the position, said concerns over the NPP's declining popularity particularly among young people were a key reason behind his decision to re-enter frontline politics.

Speaking to on Accra-based Joy FM and monitored by the Executive Spotlight , he recalled a question from a journalist at the launch of his campaign that forced him to reflect on the party's standing with younger supporters.

The journalist, he said, remarked that the NPP no longer inspired the enthusiasm it once enjoyed among politically active young people, noting that the party's symbols had become far less visible among the youth.

Mr Afoko described the comment as a "wake-up call" and said it highlighted the urgent need for the NPP to rebuild public confidence.

"If our party does not stop the rot and begin the process of reclaiming lost ground and coming back to power, we'll just go down," he said.

He argued that restoring the confidence of voters especially younger Ghanaians would be essential if the party hoped to regain office.

Mr Afoko also linked the NPP's fortunes to the health of Ghana's democracy, saying a weakened opposition would leave the country's political system without an effective check on the government.

"Our democracy is in danger. If our party is weakened further, our democracy will be in danger," he said.

He warned that a dominant governing party with an overwhelming parliamentary majority could weaken

democratic accountability by facing little effective opposition.

The former chairman said those concerns ultimately persuaded him to contest the party's top organisational position, insisting that the NPP must begin rebuilding after its electoral defeat.

He also blamed years of internal factionalism for weakening the party and alienating supporters.

"If you want an example of somebody who has suffered from this factionalism, severely suffered, then I am the example," he said.

Mr Afoko was removed as NPP national chairman in 2015 after a prolonged internal leadership dispute. Reflecting on that period, he said he believed factionalism lay behind his ouster but insisted he no longer held any bitterness.

"The pain is gone," he said. "It has been replaced by deep concern for the party, deep concern for our democracy and for the party itself."

Instead, he said, his priority was to unite the party ahead of the next general election.

"I seek to unite the party," he said. "I speak to everybody in the party, no matter who you are."

He urged party members to move beyond old divisions, saying internal disagreements should not prevent the NPP from rebuilding its electoral strength.

"This is the time for us to put aside any differences," he said.

Mr Afoko added that he had already toured parts of the country to reconnect with party members after more than a decade away from the leadership, describing the engagements as the beginning of a broader effort to rebuild

unity and restore the confidence of both party supporters and the wider electorate.