The United Party (UP Plus) is calling for a major constitutional reform to end presidential runoff elections in Ghana, proposing instead a coalition-based system of governance in cases where no candidate secures an outright majority.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday October 18, General Secretary of UP Plus, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, outlined the party’s long-term vision built on two key pillars: economic revival and structural constitutional change.
He said the party is determined to offer a credible, lasting alternative to the two dominant political parties—NPP and NDC—that have shaped Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
“We have two paths for sustainability,” Buaben Asamoa said. “The first path is the necessity of economic revival and growth, and many are worried about that. We expect to bring many on board.”
He noted that the second path, which is just as critical to the party’s vision, involves reforming Ghana’s constitutional framework to create more inclusive governance. Specifically, he pointed to Article 63(4) and (5) of the 1992 Constitution, which provides for runoff elections when no presidential candidate obtains more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.
“This duopoly has unfortunately been strengthened by the structure of the Fourth Republican Constitution,” he said.
“You’ll realise that neither of the dominant parties has total control over voter sentiment. There are often runoffs. We are saying that Article 63(4) and (5), which require a runoff, should be done away with.”
In place of runoffs, UP Plus is proposing a system where parties that fall short of the 50+1 threshold in the first round should be required to form coalition governments, bringing together smaller parties that supported them during the election.
“If on the first run, a party makes 50+1, they are home and dry. If they don’t, the smaller parties they would have used as horses to get past 50+1 should be cobbled together and go into government with them as governing partners,” he explained.
The comments reinforce UP Plus’s broader political philosophy — one that seeks to unify rather than divide. The party, which rebranded from Alan Kyerematen’s Movement for Change and officially registered with the Electoral Commission on October 3, 2025, describes itself as a centrist force focused on competence, inclusion, and solutions.
“We are an emergent force, but we are not the sole third force. This is what will shock the duopoly,” Buaben Asamoa said. “This is not Alan Kyerematen’s personal party. This is a party that galvanises opinion around national problems — especially the economy.”
Earlier, UP Plus Director of Communications Solomon Owusu also stressed that the party aims to unite talents from across the political divide and civil society to form a government rooted in merit and integrity.
Chairman Abubakar Saddique Boniface has pledged that UP Plus will stand for transformational leadership, and Alan Kyerematen has called the movement a “new dawn” in Ghanaian politics.
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