“Will NPP’s 2028 Campaign Message Be That Anyone Convicted From the Party Will Be Pardoned?”– Barker

Lawyer and social activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has joined the debate over a possible presidential pardon for Chairman Wontumi, the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman who was convicted in an illegal mining-related case.

In a statement shared on Facebook, Barker-Vormawor questioned whether the New Patriotic Party would use promises of presidential pardons for convicted members to attract votes in the 2028 general elections.

The discussion gained momentum after an aspiring NPP Ashanti Regional Vice-Chairperson reportedly suggested during a Joy FM interview that Wontumi could be pardoned if the party wins the next elections. Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years in prison over illegal mining offences.

Barker-Vormawor expressed concern about the political implications of the suggestion, asking whether the NPP would encourage voters to support the party on the promise that members convicted by the courts would receive presidential clemency.

The comments have generated reactions across social media, with the public debating the constitutional powers of the President and the appropriateness of political parties discussing pardons for convicted members.

The controversy has also brought renewed attention to judicial independence and the separation of powers, issues likely to remain part of Ghana’s political debate ahead of the 2028 elections.

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