The former Minister of Trade and Industry and a presidential hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alan Kyerematen, is addressing the nation on Tuesday (5 September) and rumour is already rife that he will announce his withdrawal from the contest.
The talk in town is that Alan Cash, as he is affectionately called, might pull out of the presidential race of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition and make a surprise announcement of going independent after a disappointing performance in the first round of vote on 26 August 2023.
Close associates of Alan say he is not happy with the way the national executives of the NPP are handling the internal polls, which his camp believes is favouring a particular candidate against the others.
First-time contender and vice-president Mahamudu Bawumia took a giant step towards becoming the presidential candidate of the governing party by securing a landslide victory in the special electoral college.
Certified results declared by the Electoral Commission show that Bawumia won 629 votes, representing 68.15% of the total valid votes across the 17 centres, to top the pack.
The MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, came second, polling 132 votes (14.3%), followed by Kyerematen, who had a total of 95 votes (10.29%).
Alan, who is a serial contender for the top post after failing on four occasions, is said to be unhappy with his handlers who have always been on the attack against the other camps, a trait political watchers assert partially led to his downfall.
If Alan chickens out of the race, it will not be the first time he is doing so. The NPP might be in for another déjà vu.
