The Movement for Change (M4C) has criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for what it describes as internal confusion and disunity in the handling of the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun, arguing that the party’s conduct exposed deep divisions within its ranks.

The criticism follows the actions of Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, the NPP’s candidate in the rerun, who defied the party’s decision to boycott the election and went on to contest. She ultimately lost by a narrow margin to Ewurabena Aubynn of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), polling 33,881 votes to Aubynn’s 34,090.

Although the NPP had publicly declared its withdrawal from the rerun—arguing that its victory in the December 2024 parliamentary election still stood—Afriyie’s participation, reportedly with the tacit support of some senior party members, sparked confusion about the party’s official position.

Commenting on the outcome of the July 11 vote, M4C spokesperson Andrew Appiah-Danquah said the contradictory actions of key NPP figures reflect a party in crisis.

“It tells you the extent to which the party is divided because it wasn’t just the candidate. We found very senior members of the party—Hon Bryan Acheampong, coming out in defiance of the position of the party.

“We found Hon Ken Agyapong, we found very senior former MPs, people who want to be executives like the Honourable Hawa Koomson,” Appiah-Danquah said on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, July 12.

“The NPP right now is a party without a soul,” he added, stressing what he called a lack of ideological clarity and strategic direction within the ruling party.

Ablekuma North rerun: We’ll deal with all troublemakers – Police