A political marketing consultant has described Alan Kyerematen’s decision to contest as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election as a “calculated risk.”
Dr Bernard Tutu-Boahene said Mr Kyerematen “is a big brand” in Ghana’s politics and that he could capitalise on his national appeal to give the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) a good run for their money.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr Tutu-Boahene, who is also a lecturer at the University of Education Business School, Winneba, urged Mr Kyerematen to surround himself with persons with strategy and vision to champion his political agenda.
“He (Alan) should not be surrounded by political sycophant who would sing songs of praises that will not amount to anything.
“He needs people who are strategists, visionary, and strategic and people who have the zeal to carry his vision and make his vision a reality,” he said
Dr Tutu-Boahene added: “Alan has a strong brand. If he can revitalise his brand, he will give the two major political parties a run for their money.”
On Monday, Mr Kyerematen, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, announced his resignation from the NPP and declared his intention to contest as an independent candidate in the 2024 election.
At a press conference in Accra, Mr Kyerematen introduced the Movement for Change, with which he seeks to mobilise young people to break what he described as the “NPP and NDC monopoly” that had persisted for decades.
On September 5, 2023, he withdrew from the NPP’s Presidential Primaries, after he accused the Party of intimidating his agents in the August 26 Special Delegates Congress, which he placed third out of 10 aspirants.
Reacting to Mr Kyerematen’s resignation, the NPP in a statement released shortly after the announcement, urged members of the Party to remain calm, saying it would respond to the issue at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Dr Tutu-Boahene said Mr Kyerematen’s breakaway from the NPP had the potential to affect the Party in the 2024 presidential election and faulted the party for “ignoring the early signals” and not “negotiating” with him to resolve his grievances.
“If a big brand like Alan is leaving, even if he is taking two per cent from the party and five per cent from national votes from the share of the NPP, it is huge.
“Apathy could also set in for Alan sympathisers,” he explained.
Mr Kyerematen, 67, quit the NPP in 2008 after a failed ambition to lead the party into the presidential race, which elected the then Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the flagbearer.
His supporters claimed at the time that they had not been happy with the treatment meted out to them by the campaign team of Nana Akufo-Addo.
Reports suggested that some stalwarts of the NPP intervened at the time, leading to Mr Kyerematen’s decision to shelve reported plans to contest the 2008 presidential elections as an independent candidate.
Meanwhile, the NPP will elect its flagbearer for the 2024 poll on November 4, 2023.
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