The NPP has been a dominant party since its formation some three decades ago and is the main rival of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Formed in 1992, the NPP had to wait till the year 2000 to win its first Presidential election in Ghana. The party, however, contested its first election eight years earlier.
The NPP is widely regarded as an offshoot of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the largest opposition party in the pre- and post-independence era.
With the Fourth Republic kicking off in 1992, the party, led by Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, contested against Jerry John Rawlings and his NDC.
The party eventually lost the presidential election. It is worthy to note, though, that Rawlings won after the NDC teamed up with other parties, known as the Progressive Alliance.
The Progressive Alliance consisted of the NDC, Eagle Party and the National Convention Party (NCP). The NPP protested the election result, alleging that it was rigged.
In protest, the party went ahead to boycott the parliamentary elections and, therefore, had no seats in Parliament from 1992 to 1996.
The NPP changed its presidential candidate ahead of the 1996 general elections, replacing Prof. Adu Boahen with John Agyekum Kufuor.
Kufuor’s rise to presidential candidate had a bit of luck, as renowned economist Kwame Pianim was the overwhelming favourite to become the NPP’s flagbearer in 1996.
However, Pianim’s eligibility was challenged by some elements in the party, with the case ending up in court.
Those against his nomination argued that he had been convicted during the PNDC era and, therefore, wasn’t eligible to stand for president. The Supreme Court later declared Pianim as ineligible.
Kufuor, therefore, became the NPP’s flagbearer and lost to Rawlings in the 1996 presidential elections, but came back strongly in the year 2000 to secure the NPP its first electoral victory in the Fourth Republic.
He polled 56.90% of the total votes to defeat the NDC’s John Evans Atta Mills, who could only manage 43.10% after a runoff.
Kufuor successfully secured a second term in 2008, defeating Mills again. Having completed two terms, he was succeeded by Nana Akufo-Addo as flagbearer ahead of the 2008 elections.
Unfortunately, Akufo-Addo lost to the NDC’s Mills, who was contesting for the Presidency for the third time. Mills won with 50.23% votes but Akufo-Addo ran him close, also polling 49.77%.
Mills, unfortunately, died while in office and was succeeded by his Vice President, John Dramani Mahama ahead of the 2012 general elections.
Contesting against Mahama in that year’s presidential election, Akufo-Addo again lost after polling 47.47% of the votes, to Mahama’s 50.70%.
Unsatisfied with the outcome of the election, the NPP alleged that it was rigged and filed a case at the Supreme Court to have the results annulled.
The Supreme Court, in a majority decision, threw out the case. Akufo-Addo conceded defeat and decided against appealing the ruling.
In 2016, at the third time of trying, Akufo-Addo finally became Ghana’s President after winning the presidential elections. He won with a landslide vote margin of almost a million, becoming the first man to unseat a sitting president in the Fourth Republic.
President Akufo-Addo and his Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will once again seek to retain power when they come up against Mahama in the 2020 polls.