The leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) says Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen’s resignation from the party was premeditated and irrevocable.
The party said it was disappointed that Mr. Kyerematen, who pulled out of the NPP’s presidential primaries on the premise that the process had been skewed in favor of a candidate, failed to engage the party’s executives before announcing his resignation on Monday.
Mr. Kyerematen announced his resignation from the NPP on Monday to contest the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate.
The former Trade Minister also accused a selected group of Party leaders and elders and some government appointees of hijacking the Party.
Addressing a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, Justin Kodua, the General Secretary of the NPP, said Mr. Kyerematen’s resignation was disappointing because he failed to follow the party’s protocol.
He refuted the reasons that Mr. Kyerematen gave for his decision to quit the party.
“The Party wants to believe that his decision to hold the press conference to resign without first informing the leadership of the Party suggests that he has made a premeditated and irrevocable decision to resign from the Party.”
Mr. Kodua stated that the NPP had always tried to increase member participation in its decision-making process by enlarging its electoral college since its inception three decades ago.
He stated that before the NPP decided to decentralize the process by enlarging its electoral college, the selection of flagbearers for political parties in Ghana had been the preserve of a privileged few.
According to Mr. Kodua, the NPP has raised its electoral college from 1,998 in 1992 to almost 200,000 in 2023.
“The quantum leap to Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates in 2023 underscores the decentralization of power to all Party stakeholders and defeats the assertion that the Party has been hijacked by a privileged few,” the General Secretary stated.
The NPP General Secretary also refuted claims by the former Trade Minister that the recently held super delegate congress election was “tactically and strategically skewed,” particularly by the Party’s National Council in favour of one candidate.
He said, Article 13(1) (1), of the Party’s Constitution stipulated that “the date and venue for the presidential primaries shall be decided by the National Council, provided, however, that the National Council may, on appropriate occasion vary the date.” Mr Kodua said the National Council did nothing wrong by voting against the proposal for the use of a single venue for the elections. “Furthermore, there is a historical precedence. In 2014, the Special Electoral College elections were held at several venues. At the time, no aspirant including Mr. Kyerematen filed a petition regarding the venue,” he said.
The General Secretary thanked Mr Kyerematen for his service to the party and urged party members to renew their commitment to the NPP for the party to realise its “break the eight” agenda.
He also lauded the party’s rank and file for their loyalty to the party and urged those who earlier backed Mr Kyerematen to reaffirm their support for the NPP.
“Our party’s strength has always been derived from the unity and resilience of our members, and we call upon every one of you to rally together and uphold the principles that define us,” Mr. Kodua added.
