Delegates at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Delegates Conference on Saturday, July 19, overwhelmingly rejected a motion seeking to redefine the age limit for youth within the party’s constitution.
In a voice vote that rang through the University of Ghana Stadium, the loud yell of “NO” from delegates sealed the fate of Motion 54, which sought to amend Article 15(4) of the party’s constitution to define a youth as a member of the party “not above the age of 35 years.”
Presenting the motion, Chairman of the NPP Constitutional Amendment Committee, Frank Davies, explained the intent was to align the party’s definition of youth with global and national standards.
“Motion 54, Amend Article 15(4) of the NPP constitution by defining youth in the constitution to refer to a member of the party who is not above the age of 35 years,” Mr. Davies announced to the gathering.
Reading the committee’s justification for the motion, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah referenced several international benchmarks, noting that many global institutions set 35 as the upper limit for youth.
“The age limit for youth according to all the international conventions and laws shows that the highest is 35. The UN puts the youth bracket between 15 and 24 years, WHO says 15 to 29, UNICEF uses 15 to 24, and the African Youth Charter defines it as 15 to 35. In Ghana, the National Youth Authority Act, Act 939, defines a youth as someone between 15 and 25,” he elaborated.
Despite the rationale, the delegates decisively voted against the change. The voice vote was so resounding that no formal count was needed.
Chairman Frank Davies confirmed the outcome:
“The ‘No’ has it, meaning we revert to the status quo, which puts the age of youth at not above 40 years.”
The rejection of the motion means the party will maintain its current constitutional definition, which allows individuals up to the age of 40 to be considered part of the youth wing, a move that preserves the status of several current youth leaders.
Rejection of Motion 17
The delegates also rejected the Motion 17, which proposed that the Regional Executive Committee appoint persons to supervise Polling Station and Electoral Area elections.
Delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) also rejected Motion 17, which sought to amend the party’s constitution to transfer the supervision of Polling Station and Electoral Area elections from constituency officers to the Regional Executive Committee.
Motion 17, which proposed an amendment to Article 7(30) of the NPP Constitution, would have allowed the Regional Executive Committee to appoint independent supervisors, excluding Polling Station, Electoral Area, and Constituency Officers, to oversee grassroots-level elections.
The justification for the motion was rooted in concerns over fairness and conflict of interest.
“Constituencies are directly involved in the compilation of the album for organising Polling Station and Constituency elections. It is therefore prudent that supervision of these elections should be taken to the regional level to absolve it from any conflict of interest,” the motion stated.
Despite the rationale, delegates decisively voted against the motion, preferring to maintain the current arrangement that allows constituency-level officers to manage these electoral processes.
The rejection underscores the strong sentiment among party grassroots that local leadership should retain control over key internal election activities to ensure accountability, transparency, and community trust.
Saturday’s session forms part of a larger agenda at the NPP’s National Delegates Conference, which is reviewing over 50 motions derived from more than 300 amendment proposals submitted nationwide.
Themed “Rebuilding Together with our Values,” the conference, attended by over 5,500 delegates, comes at a critical time for the party as it seeks to realign and reenergise following its defeat in the 2024 general elections.
