It is exactly sixteen years ago this year, in December 2007, that Hon John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, withdrew from the run-off between him and H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo which was to decide who should be flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party in 2008. Sixteen years on, in 2023, Alan Kyerematen has again withdrawn from a presidential primary.
In both cases, he indicated the need for peace and togetherness in the party. And in both cases, he let a lot of people down.
On August 26, 2023 the NPP went into the first stage of electing a flag bearer. This one was the responsibility of selected elites of the party, the Super Delegates, to prune down the aspirants to five, and present their choices to the highest decision-making body of the party, the National Delegates Congress, to decide who is to be the flag bearer.
As expected, Dr. Bawumia, the vice-president, won by landslide and the favourite of the masses, Alan Kyerematen came third after the dynamic Kennedy Agyepong.
The elections conducted by the elites were reduced to an event of crude acts, where rules were abused with impudence. If elites could grossly violate electoral rules and human rights, then what should be expected of the grass roots? Reports had it that in the North East region, an Alan polling agent, Ali Zakaria, had his eye almost plugged out after receiving severe beatings for insisting that right things should be done. Then, Kennedy Agyepong went into his elements after he received news that his agents were also attacked and manhandled in the same region.
For a party who rode on the back of respect for electoral laws, after recording crude events of November, 1992 in a book called The Stolen Verdict, and had the rules of the game of national elections amended, to be seen committing worse electoral crimes, is absurd and very unbelievable. Can the NPP of today have the moral rights to attack the Electoral Commission and the NDC for violation of electoral laws in any general elections?
In 2013, the NPP contested the 2012 elections in the Supreme Court and proved beyond reasonable doubt that there were many forms of electoral malpractices which denied the will of the people. Now, here is where the party has gotten to.
Even though everybody knew Bawumia would win the Super Delegates, did the conduct of the elections promote fair play? Why was that in one center the election was held indoors, instead of outdoors? Why were people intimidated with one on record as almost been lynched? Were these not things that the NPP stood up against and led to the transformation of elections in this country?
If such things continue, and the fact that the elite are not listening to the opinion of the grass root, many might leave the NPP to either join other parties or form their own. Today, the elite want to make the grass root their personal property and would pay them to do menial jobs for them as in voting for their choice. How the grass root feel, what they eat, where they sleep, is none of concerns to the elite. All required of them is to vote for those they have asked to vote for. And this can spell doom for the UP Tradition.
Let the NPP be mindful of the fact that the UGCC was poised to be the first political party to form government in this republic. But, elitism, which made the gurus feel more important than the commoners, made the youth dragged Nkrumah, who always associated with them, out from the UGCC to form the CPP.
In the 1951 Elections, the UGCC picked Omanhene of Assin Atandasu, Nana Sir Tsibu Darku IX, as its candidate for one of the two Sekondi-Takoradi seats. He was a Knight of the Order of the British Empire, Leader of the Joint Provincial Council and Senior African Member of the Burns Constitution, while the CPP picked a common railway engineer, as in, train driver, Alfred Pobee Biney as its candidate. He was a grassroots man, loved by most of the people, while the former, only appealed to the elite. At the end of the day, Alfred Pobee Biney had 51 votes and Nana Sir Tsibu Darku IX had only 13 votes.
Because of elitism, in less than five years, the UGCC disbanded while the CPP, who endeared to the massed shot into the space. Elitism must not be allowed in the NPP.
No true UP Traditionalist will want to see the NPP break-up. And so, it is about time mutual love, respect, rule of law and equal justice are made manifest in the party.
One may not understand why Alan Kyerematen rushed into deciding to withdraw from the primaries, at a time when the grass root wanted to use him to prove to the elite that they also need to be respected. A lot of people are highly disappointed with his decision and some are in tears, up to this day. So, what becomes of the prominent chiefs and religious leaders who openly threw support for Alan? We are here talking about the prophets of the land who told us that God had decreed that Alan would be president in 2025. Were they truly telling us what God said? Will Alan be sworn-in as president in January 2025? If it is indeed the will of God, then so shall it, we are only human; but “how,” will remain the question.
Since its formation in 1957, the United Party (UP) had been on rugged journey. Because of its principle of rule of law and equal justice, the CPP and other socialists do not want it to survive. In 1964, after the amendment of what was left of the 1956 Constitution, Ghana became a one-party state with the CPP as the only official party and the UP was proscribed.
After the 1966 coup, the military leaders decided to return the country to civilian rule in 1969. The UP came together to form the Progress Party which won the general elections. This government was overthrown in 1972 and after seven years, the country was ready to return to civilian rule.
The Progress Party members, under the UP Tradition, decided to form a party. It became the Popular Front Party (PFP), after one of the PP gurus, William Ofori-Atta defected to form his own party, the UNC, and effectively eroded the chances of the Uppist and Victor Owusu, leading the country.
The winning party, the PNC, in 1981, was also overthrown by a military coup, led by Jerry John Rawlings. After eleven years as head of state, Rawlings succumbed to pressure to return the country to civilian rule.
Before the ban on politic parties was lifted on May 18, 1992, Victor Owusu of the UP Tradition came up with a club, called the All People’s Party but it did not catch on well. This was where Kwaku Attakora Mensah Gyimah came into the scene with the Danquah-Busia Club which was launched in Kumasi in 1991. This Danquah-Busia Club converted to the New Patriotic Party on July 28, 1992.
The ambition of the socialists to breakdown the UP Tradition was manifested during the Rawling’s administrations, when pro-Akan businesses perceived to be owned by Uppists, were attacked, confiscated and brought to the ground. Appiah-Menka and Safo-Adu suffered greatly for the crime of only struggling to make Ghana an industrial hub in Africa.
In the first elections of November 1992, everything went wrong at the polls. Pure rigging, in the form of intimidation, beating up of people who stood up for justice, stuffing of ballot boxes and multiple voting were among the methods adopted to make sure that Rawlings won the elections. The losing NPP, stood up to be counted and compelled the EC to start using transparent ballot boxes and also start voting in the opening among others. NPP was the political party who championed reforms in our electoral process and so, to see infarctions the party stood against to be committed in its internal elections, is unbelievable and shocking, to say the least.
By this way, if care is not taken, the party could split and the socialists would praise and thank God for answered prayers. Because why should people be lured, coerced, forced, blackmailed and traumatised into voting against their conscience? Afari-Gyan made it known that once a ballot enters the ballot box, it would be counted. So, evil persons would come out to make sure the ‘wrong’ ballots entered the ballot box in their favour. Wrong because, that was not what the voter would have voted for and wrong because it has been smuggled into the box and also wrong because the person who voted was not illegible to vote.
Some of electoral frauds NPP fought against was about ineligible voters, the under-aged, the non-citizens and those who did multiple registration. Charlotte Osei accused one of her deputies of uploading the voters’ register in his office, when registration had long been closed. Today in NPP, some constituencies are complaining that their albums (internal voters’ register) have been tampered with.
Eligible names are alleged to have been deleted and replaced with people who are not delegates. If this is true and with allegations that the top hierarchy of party has a preferred candidate, aggrieved members of the NPP will not vote for the party’s flag bearer in the 2024 General Elections. When that happens, it will drag the party into a long rough period in opposition.
John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen’s withdrawal from the primaries should put the whole party into deep reflection of issues in the NPP today. Many are those who have decided to mock him. This will not help. His withdrawal must rather make the whole party forge towards unity and love for one another, so that whoever finally gets the nod will be supported by the entire rank and file of the party. Without that, the NPP should forget 2024.
Let it not be said that the election was screwed in favour of one person who is the choice of the elite, because seriously, if such a thing happens, it will tarnish the image of the flag bearer, going on to campaign to be president. He may be the most qualified one but with that sack of rocks wrongfully put on his innocent back, he would be rejected both internally and externally.
Twice in sixteen years, Alan had withdrawn from primaries. In both cases, he did so, out of sacrifice for the right things to be done. It is now left with the party’s executives and gurus, to offer his withdrawal in supplication to God, with humility, self-denial and contrite hearts, and surely the NPP will reap great blessings.
Hon Daniel Dugan
