Renowned pollster Ben Ephson has expressed his belief that the withdrawal of Alan Kyerematen, a contender in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primaries, is unlikely to have a substantial impact on the party.
Alan Kyerematen, the former Trade minister, announced his decision to withdraw from the race on Tuesday, September 5, citing concerns about the fairness of the special delegates’ conference held in August.
He alleged that events leading up to, during, and after the conference were strategically biased in favour of a particular aspirant. Kyerematen also raised issues of intimidation and reported violence at various voting centres during the conference, casting doubt on the fairness of the upcoming election scheduled for November 4, 2023.
However, Ben Ephson shared his perspective on the matter during an interview on the Big Bulletin.
“I think that many of those who will vote for Alan Kyerematen in the primaries love NPP more than Alan Kyerematen as a person,” Ephson remarked.
“Now if he leaves and contests as an independent candidate or on another party’s ticket for the 2024 general elections, for your listeners who are 30 years and below, they will not remember that 17 years ago when President Akufo-Addo defeated Alan Kyerematen, he resigned from the NPP before coming back to the party.”
“Now he makes a point about the hierarchy of government supporting a candidate; 17 years ago, President Kufour’s government and hierarchy supported him and he lost, so a system supporting you does not guarantee victory.”
