Former Ghana Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, has withdrawn from the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Flagberarership race, citing favouritism, intimidation and violence in the electoral process.
“After having carefully analysed the results of the said elections, it is absolutely clear to me from events leading to, during and after the elections, that the Special Delegates Conference was strategically and tactically skewed in favour of one particular Aspirant.
“The pronouncements made by some leading Members of our Party both before and after the elections, also lend weight to my observations”, he said in a statement issued yesterday after he cancelled a scheduled public address.
Kyerematen placed third in the NPP Super Delegates Congress held on Saturday, August 26, when he polled 95 votes representing 10.82 per cent of the total votes cast in the election won by the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who won 629 votes, representing 68.15 per centof the total valid votes.
Kyerematen qualified together with Ken Agyapong, who placed second in the election, to participate in the final lap of the Presidential Primaries on November 4.
But in the statement issued on the eve of balloting for the election, he said, “The level of intimidation of varying intensity, directly and indirectly unleashed on a significant number of Delegates at various Voting Centers across the sixteen regions, is unprecedented in the history of our Party.
“In addition, the fact that my Polling Agent in the North East region has suffered severe damage to his eye sight, arising from his bold and courageous effort to ensure compliance with the very rules and regulations for the conduct of the elections as approved by the Presidential Elections Committee, will forever remain a dark spot in the history of internal elections within the Party.”
According to Kyerematen, the “various incident and various acts of violence and collusion, reported in other Voting Centers, are appalling, unconscionable, and despicable.”
He said he was committed to, and valued the safety of those who work with me and for me, and would always fight for their interest.
“The question I keep asking myself is, “How did we get here as a Party in the first place, and how far are we prepared to tread on this dangerous path to self-destruction?”
“Regrettably, am not convinced that the circumstances | have referred to earlier, will not persist or even be escalated in the next round of elections”, he said.
Mr Kyerematen promised to provide an indication of the role that he would play in politics in Ghana, after consultations with his family and various stakeholders.
He wished the other aspirants well and thanked his campaign team and well-wishers for their support.
