Alan Kyerematen: a potential king maker, a failed presidential candidate or a potential president

He is a pan-African diplomat, economist, lawyer, politician, corporate executive, family man, and a graduate of the renowned Achimota College. Born in 1965 in the city of Kumasi and educated in Cape Coast, Accra, and the United States of America, With the endearing nickname "Alan Cash," he epitomizes a vibrant and principled politician with a captivating grin that sets him apart from his peers and associates.

He has traveled the whole breadth and length of the continent, empowering and generating possibilities for African business people. In various African nations, he orchestrated the establishment of enterprise support systems, benefiting over four thousand small and medium-sized businesses, according to Wikipedia 2023.

His brand of politics is the politics of conscience, conviction, and values, and I'm sure that having more of these attributes than his counterparts would make him the better president. Due to his father's ties to the British and the numerous positions he held in Ghana's political eras before and after independence, he was raised in a political milieu. When multi-party democracy was reinstated in 1992, Mr. Alan, who had been politically involved from young age and as a founding member, held several leadership positions within the New Patriotic Party.

Serving as a member of the National Executive Committee, the Economic Management Team, the Finance Committee, the Young Executive Forum (YEF), the Great Alliance Negotiating Team, and others from 1992 to 2001. Nationally, he has held ministerial and ambassadorial appointments.

The 2023 attempt to lead the party as a presidential candidate will represent the many failed attempts he has made to lead the party. The latest abysmal performance at the Super Delegates Conference formed part of his decision to quit the race. His resignation highlighted a lot of internal machinations and orchestrations against him and other candidates. Suffice it to say that the whole process was skewed to favor a particular candidate, which Mr. Alan highlighted in his resignation speech.

In the end, he resigned from the NPP presidential race, much to the joy of the leading candidate and his supporters, who now have a firm grip on the ticket. Indeed, politics does not reward decency, principle, or godly ethics; it is a game of survival of the fittest, the richest, and the corrupt. Even if he contested in the primary for the same party in November or waited for another four or eight years, the probability of ascending to the position of party flag bearer is highly doubtful, if not impossible.

The way forward

Ghanaians long for change and continuously search for an oasis of hope to end the NDC/NPP stranglehold. Success is only achievable when there is an imbalance that has to be filled, and if that need is met, people will naturally praise and respond to the novel idea. Alan represents the renewed hope of the populace if he is willing to present himself for election.

He is also a potential kingmaker and president if only these few steps are followed. There may be calls from all quarters encouraging him to be silent and remain in his sabbatical political asylum, but it will be a disservice to mother Ghana and the teaming population of young people who are yearning for a change from the NPP and NDC hegemony. The following represent the immediate steps he must take to redeem himself and revive a seemingly dead political career. The following are important to consider now:

Make a political statement soon to allay the fears and contradict the rumors in the public domain that he has been settled by the opponent to resign, meaning that he is a sellout, further alienating his supporters from him. This view is corroborated by the circumstances that led to his resignation and the falsehood peddled by his political opponents.

For instance, the story of his one-party agent in a particular region not being allowed to carry out his lawful duties. Threat to his supporters both in parliament and outside parliament. This and many more are no longer an internal political secret. If he has any chance of becoming president of Ghana or even having an influence on the elections, he should immediately drop his plans to run as an independent candidate.

The hung parliament in the present parliament serves as an illustration of the difficulty in governance should he emerge as a minority president. However, Ghanaians have not attempted voting for an independent candidate before and the possibility is very slim compared to statistics from previous elections. Even if you win, you'll still need members of parliament for a successful term.

Furthermore, if you go independent, it will be challenging to secure funding from affluent power brokers owing to their concern about losing their investment; investors value structures regardless of the goals. Winning the elections in 2024 for Mr. Alan's political journey will not only break the hold of the two dominant political parties but will also bring smiles to the faces of the downtrodden, hopeless, and disillusioned Ghanaians.

The likelihood of gaining voters from particular strongholds will be at the center of discussions, so your opponent can use the electoral commission or the judiciary to thwart that endeavor. I could go on and on, but for the sake of busy readers, I'll stop here. Running as an independent candidate won't offer you the national framework you need to win an election in Ghana.

Due to the time and money needed, the concept of starting a new political party to run for office in the following year is not the wisest course of action. Aside from the time and money involved, there is a chance that your adversary may use the electoral commission or court to obstruct that move, as it has done in the past. A new political party also needs fresh structures to provide the framework for any successful attempt at the presidency. Financially speaking, investors might not support creating a new party just to wait the next ten or so years before being competitive.

There is no time to waste since voters are suffering and followers want change. Instead of the NDC or the NPP, followers are yearning for a third force that has the mechanisms to improve the economy, generate employment, and increase wealth for the majority of people rather than just a select few. That is what Alan's strategy and success should center on to attract floating voters across all regions.

The only feasible option now is for Alan to join an already registered and established political party with national coverage and structures to compete meaningfully in the next general election. Mr. Alan will be an asset to that political party and increase their prospects at all levels; at the very At least, CPP and PNC are preferred against others because they will provide a better platform not only for the party but for all their parliamentary candidates in all regions to perform better and wrestle power from NPP and NDC.

Come 2024 any political party that adopts Mr. Alan will have a representative in the next parliament. At this stage, I was beginning to suspect that some political parties may have taken steps to persuade him to join them so that he might run for president on their platform and improve their fortunes. However, lobbyists can learn something from this piece and move quickly before it's too late.

Any political party planning to adopt Alan should also review and alter its internal statutes to prevent lawsuits that might result in disqualifications. The PDP, APC, and Peter Obi's Labor Party are still relatively recent examples from Nigeria. This coalition has previously manifested itself in the UK, France, and other nations.

Any party that embraces Alan would experience a surge of supporters from both the NDC and NPP, particularly the disgruntled members. Parliamentary candidates and supporters will also throng the party in favor of national harmony.

Finally, there will be a strong urge and discouragement from a few people, but the writer, as a political and economic student, is willing to provide free consulting to any political party and for Alan Kyeremanten to assume the seat of the presidency without hitches.