The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, has hinted that Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, consulted widely before he took a decision to withdraw from the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearership race.
Mr. Kyerematen, who secured the third position in the NPP’s Special Delegates’ Conference, was expected to be one of the five candidates participating in the upcoming November 4 presidential primaries.
However, he withdrew from the polls on Tuesday, September 5, citing alleged intimidation of his supporters and manipulation of the election in favour of one candidate.
Speaking on The Point of View on Citi TV hosted by Bernard Avle, the MP expressed disappointment in Mr. Kyerematen’s withdrawal.
“I will not say I was surprised, but I was disappointed. We all had high hopes. He’s the candidate, he’s the leader, he’s the one presenting himself to be president of the Republic to lead the NPP as a presidential candidate. So if at a point he decides that this is the path that he wants to take, you can advise, but for me, the backstops with him. I will say that in the decision that he took, he really consulted widely. He engaged virtually everybody who supported his campaign,” he stated.
Davis Ansah Opoku acknowledged the approach by the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s team, during the Special Delegates’ Conference.
The legislator emphasised that Mr Kyerematen was not tipped to win the election, congratulating Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for the win.
“I was not expecting Alan to have emerged as number one in the Super Delegates’s Conference. Clearly, I felt that his focus was not mainly on the leadership, he wanted to deal with the grassroots of the party. So he probably came in working with the super delegates a bit late. I want to congratulate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for the approach he took to handling the Super Delegates’ Conference.”
“He went on a personal campaign, which really worked well for him. For me, politics is all about strategy, having your machinery stronger on the ground and how you are able to manoeuvre and get the results as we all saw. Kennedy Agyapong also did very well. Many thought that Alan was going to be placed second, but Kennedy Agyapong came second. For me, it’s a mark of how they approached their campaigns. Let me say that Dr Bawumia and his team had a better approach. We were focused on the main election”.
Davis Ansah Opoku strongly advised Alan Kyerematen against forming his own party or going independent.
“I’m not looking forward to an announcement that seems to break away, he’s a party stalwart, and his efforts will be needed. We will need him to join forces so that we are able to win the next election. The decision of going independent, or forming his own party should be out,” he opined.
He suggested that persons who perpetrated violence during the election should be made to face the full rigour of the law.
“People should be punished for any assault, no matter who is involved.”