Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) member, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has recounted that during his time in the party, his supporters faced attacks and were treated as outcasts following the party’s 2007 presidential primaries.
In 2007, Mr. Kyerematen ran for the party’s flagbearer position alongside 16 other candidates, including the current President, Nana Akufo-Addo. Nana Akufo-Addo emerged as the winner, with Mr. Kyerematen as the runner-up. According to the party’s electoral process, the two were slated for a second-round ballot.
However, Mr. Kyerematen declined to contest and instead allowed Nana Akufo-Addo to be selected as the NPP’s flagbearer for the 2008 general elections.
According to the former Trade Minister, he did this to “avoid a further deterioration of peace in an already divided Party.”
Nonetheless, the gesture he made was met with opposition as “there were very serious post-primary attacks on my
supporters all over the country, and an open show of hostility.”
“Some of my supporters were victims of brutalities and continue to bear the scars of that treatment,” he added.
Mr Kyerematen, while announcing his recent resignation from the party at a press conference in Accra today, noted that he drew the attention of the leadership of the party, however, “my representations went unheeded.”
As a result of this, he decided to resign from the NPP “in protest against the blatant alienation of my supporters, orchestrated by elements aligned to the leadership of the Party.”