New Patriotic Party (NPP) leader and presidential candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has disclosed that the party has begun a nationwide search for potential parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2028 general elections.

Dr Bawumia said the initiative is intended to help the NPP identify individuals with the strongest prospects of winning parliamentary seats, rather than relying solely on the outcome of internal primaries.

Speaking on the party’s preparations for the 2028 elections, he explained that financial strength and the ability to win an internal primary do not necessarily translate into success in a general election.

He said some aspirants could use their financial resources to secure the party’s nomination but may lack the broader support required to win the constituency in the general election.

“We are going to do a candidate search across all the constituencies, because some people can win parliamentary primaries because they have money, but they can’t win the general elections,” Dr Bawumia said.

He warned that allowing such candidates to emerge unchallenged through the primary process could result in the party losing seats it might otherwise have been able to win.

“If you leave it to them, they will win the primary, but you’ve lost the seat,” he added.

According to Dr Bawumia, the candidate search is already underway and will rely on multiple independent assessments. The party, he said, will compare the findings from the various sources to identify potential candidates with strong electoral prospects.

“Candidate search is going on and we’re going to have more than one candidate search from independent sources. And we’ll compare what they are saying,” he said.

He explained that where the assessments identify a particular individual as having a strong chance of winning a constituency, the party could approach the person and encourage them to contest on the NPP ticket.

“Because if we find out that this is the person who can win us the seat, we’ll persuade that person to come on board and help us to win the seat,” he stated.

NPP plans early parliamentary elections

Dr Bawumia also disclosed that the NPP intends to complete its internal elections as early as possible to give the party sufficient time to prepare for the 2028 general elections.

He said the process would begin with parliamentary constituency elections, including discussions with sitting Members of Parliament.

“We are going to also be looking to try to have our parliamentary elections as soon as possible, so that NPP will be done with internal elections,” he said.

The move forms part of the NPP’s broader preparations for the 2028 elections, as the party seeks to strengthen its parliamentary representation, retain seats it currently holds and reclaim constituencies it lost in previous elections.