The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed sadness at the withdrawal of Alan Kyeremanten from the 2024 flagbearer contest.
According to the party, it noted with regret the statement from the former Minister of Trade and Industry on his pullout from the contest.
Kyerematen, who secured the third position in the Special Delegates’ Conference, was anticipated to be among the five contenders participating in the presidential primaries scheduled for November 4.
However, he opted to withdraw from the electoral process, citing allegations of intimidation of his supporters and manipulation of the election in favor of a specific candidate.
In a statement issued in Accra on Tuesday, Mr. Kyerematen said the events leading to, during, and after the party’s Special Electoral College elections were “strategically and tactically” skewed in favor of a particular aspirant.
He said the pronouncements by some leading members of the party before and after the elections also “lent weight” to his decision to pull out of the race.
The former trade minister said the level of intimidation of varying intensity, directly and indirectly, unleashed on some delegates at various Voting Centers across the sixteen regions was unprecedented in the history of the party.
He said the incidents and various acts of violence and collusion reported in other Voting centers were “appalling, unconscionable, and despicable.”
He added that regrettably, he was not convinced that the circumstances referred to earlier would not persist or even escalate in the next round of elections.
Nonetheless, the party, in an official statement, acknowledged the receipt of Kyerematen’s letter dated September 5, 2023. Furthermore, the party has disclosed that both the Elections Committee and the Disciplinary Committee have initiated comprehensive investigations into all reported instances of violations and infractions alleged to have taken place during the superdelegates election.
In 2008, Alan Kyeremanten resigned from the NPP after a similar contest in which 17 aspirants staked their claim to fill in the shoes of then-outgoing president John Agyekum Kufuor.
The NPP has set November 4, 2023, for the election of its flag-bearer for the 2024 general election.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, immediate past Minister of Food and Agriculture, and Mr. Francis Addai-Nimoh, a former MP for Mampong, will contest for the slot.
This brings the number of aggrieved aspirants who have pulled out of the NPP’s flag-bearer contest to two.
Last week, another presidential aspirant, Mr. Boakye Kyeremanten Agyarko, also announced he was refraining from the primaries, as he was billed to face former Mampong MP, Mr. Francis Addai-Nimoh, in a run-off to pick the final aspirant to make the shortlist of five after the Super Delegates Congress.
His withdrawal followed the NPP’s decision to convene its National Council as an electoral college to resolve the tie between him and Francis Addai Nimoh, both of whom secured fifth place in the recently concluded super delegate conference.
The former energy minister cited what he called ‘unconstitutional acts’ regarding the conduct of the party’s presidential primaries.

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