A heated attempt to redefine the age limit for youth membership within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ended in resounding defeat on Saturday, July 19, as delegates at the party’s National Delegates Conference overwhelmingly voted down a motion to cap the youth age at 35.
Gathered at the University of Ghana Stadium, over 5,500 delegates made their stance unmistakably clear when the voice vote on Motion 54 was called. The thunderous cry of “NO” echoed through the venue, drowning out any support for the proposal and compelling party officials to dismiss it without a headcount.
The motion, which sought to amend Article 15(4) of the party’s constitution to redefine a youth as a member “not above the age of 35 years,” was presented by Frank Davies, Chairman of the NPP Constitutional Amendment Committee.
“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.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, speaking in support of the amendment, cited global and national standards to justify the proposed change.
“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 explained.
Despite the international benchmarks, delegates flatly rejected the motion, choosing instead to preserve the current party definition of youth as any member under 40 years old.
Chairman Frank Davies made the outcome official: “The ‘No’ has it, meaning we revert to the status quo, which puts the age of youth at not above 40 years.”
The decision protects the eligibility of several current youth leaders and reflects a broader internal consensus to maintain flexibility in grooming emerging leaders.
The vote formed part of a larger constitutional review process underway at the conference, where more than 50 motions—drawn from over 300 proposals submitted nationwide—are under consideration.
Held under the theme “Rebuilding Together with Our Values,” the 2025 National Delegates Conference marks a pivotal moment for the NPP as it seeks to retool its structures and rebuild party unity following its loss in the 2024 general elections.
