Davis Opoku Ansah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mpraeso Constituency, has revealed that many prominent members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have left the Presidential candidate, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen’s camp.
He claimed that it was their means of retaliating against Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen for giving up his candidacy in favor of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The Mpraeso MP recalled the party’s 2007 primary, which featured 17 candidates and was held on the campus of the University of Ghana, where Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo narrowly prevailed and needed to rely on a crucial concession from Mr Kyerematen.
According to Davis Opoku Ansah, if there had been a run-off, Alan would have prevailed. However, he claimed that many of Alan Kyerematen’s fans were devastated by his choice to let the current President win, and they have since stopped supporting him.
“Most of the bigwigs who have withdrawn their support were hurt, and they think this is the time to punish him for Sacrificing for Akufo-Addo,” he claimed.
Also, he mentioned that he had a conversation with a senior NPP official and from how the conversation flowed, the person was not interested in supporting Alan again, albeit he did not give any names.
“A top man called me and asked why I was wholeheartedly supporting Alan, considering he is someone who gives up easily. He told me they were committed and confident they would have won the second round in 2007, but he gave up.”
Davis Opoku Ansah
Commenting on his reaction to the aforementioned caller, the Mpraeso MP emphasized that the choice was made for the benefit of the NPP as a whole and that it represented the greatest sacrifice. This, he claimed, supports the grassroots call for Alan to be chosen as the party’s next Presidential candidate.
Team Alan Focused On Nov 4
According to Catherine Afeku, a spokesperson for NPP Presidential candidate Alan Kyerematen, the Super Delegate Conference scheduled on August 26, 2023, is not their primary concern.
Despite how important the election is, Catherine Afeku, said that it is only intended to reduce the field of candidates to five. She revealed that she saw it as an administrative procedure carried out, in accordance with the party’s charter.
Former Tourism Minister, Madam Afeku offered assurance that Mr. Kyerematen will be among the initial five. She asserted that the team’s attention is now focused on November 4, where its candidate will be chosen as the NPP’s Presidential nominee for the 2024 election.
“The special delegates won’t decide for all the grassroots of the party. The real NPP Presidential election is on November 4th; we are only pruning it down to five on Saturday,” she declared.
The former Evalue-Gwira MP emphasized that as the Super Delegates Conference results are still preliminary, it will be premature for any candidate or team to celebrate.
To head the NPP in the 2024 election, Mr. Kyerematen is vying with nine other candidates. Thus, 900 delegates will participate in the Saturday election to choose the five candidates who will compete in the NPP’s Presidential primary.
However, John Boadu, a former General Secretary of the NPP, said that he is not worried about the candidate he will choose to run for President. He claimed that if he made his favored candidate public, just two of the ten candidates will truly think he voted for them.
Mr. Boadu claimed it was due to the candidates’ relationship with him, albeit he was vague about the specifics. “Apart from Bawumia and Joe Ghartey, none of the other candidates will believe me, if I vote for them…even if I tell them,” he said.
As a result, he stated that he is more worried about the NPP’s upcoming assignment and its success in the 2024 election. “There is a possibility that I will vote for Bawumia or Joe Ghartey because he is my good friend but after this, we are going into an election, and how to bring the party back together is my worry,” he noted.
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