To some, it came as a surprise; to others, it was expected.
On September 5, 2023, one of the forerunners in the NPP flagbearership race, Alan Kyerematen withdrew from the race.
He cited the lack of trust in the party’s leadership and the unfair electoral system of the party during the super delegate elections as some of the reasons why he has decided to step aside.
The public is divided by this development.
Whereas some sections of the public expressed their disappointment at the development, others said that the signs were on the wall for him to withdraw a long time ago and that it is better late than never.
In an interview with GhanaWeb, some individuals had this to say.
“He should have done that long ago, he should have seen it coming. More or less, they ganged up against him. You have the government appointees and the elites in the NPP and if they gang up against you, who do you think you are?
“It's better late than never anyway. I hope this time he will not even come back. Because the motive is to retire him,” one person said.
He continued “He is not as rough as Kennedy. If he had gotten that rough nature, he would have been in there. When he said he was going to give them a showdown, you see how helter-skelter they were, they couldn’t do him anything."
Another who also supports the decision by the former trade minister indicated that Alan could save his money now that he has stepped down.
“Alan Kyerematen did the right thing by stepping down. If you should listen to social media and also the same NPP guys you will hear them say it. Because in stepping down, you are not going to waste your money again.
"To become a presidential candidate of a party entails a lot. Now that you’ve stepped down, you can invest your money somewhere else, but for the presidential things it is out for Alan,” another individual added.
Some of the individuals who were saddened by this development said Alan had disappointed his followers by withdrawing from the race.
“It's very unfortunate. Alan Kyerematen has been at the party for some time now and looking at his dignity and his level in the party, I think that he has really disappointed his supporters.
"But once we also believe in democracy, we should also expect that some of these things are the disadvantages that come with democracy. So, we should embrace it and going forward the leaders will put things in order so that it will not happen again. I would prefer that he stayed in the race, this is a contest.
“Everybody believed in him/herself and I believe at the end of the day, it is the delegates who are actually going to choose who will lead the party. So, for me, it is unfortunate” he explained.
The next also added “[animguase mfata okanni ba], to wit, a true leader deserves no shame. So it's better he preserves his little pride.
"But I am thinking if also Bawumia wins, it will be under the shadow of Nana Akufo-Addo because the sponsoring is coming from him” she also added.
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