By Emmanuel Oti Acheampong
The governing New Patriotic Party will go to the polls on Saturday, August 26, 2023, to prune the number of presidential flagbearer hopefuls from ten to five in what they term the Super Delegates Conference.
The Super Delegates Conference, which allows the eligibility of Party National Executives, Members of Parliament, and other dignified personalities within the internal structures of the party, forms part of the party’s plan to democratically reduce the number of aspirants to a sizable one for their forthcoming November Delegates Conference.
Among the candidates are former ministers under the Akufo-Addo-led government and former party executives. With the NPP being conceived of as having strong roots in the Ashanti Region, where former Trades and Industry Minister, Alan Kojo Kyerematen, a flagbearer hopeful, hails from, GBC Online engaged some tertiary students to share their opinions on Alan Kyeremanten’s chances in the Super Delegates Conference.
According to Theophilus Owusu Adasi, a Journalism and Media Studies student at the Media Institute of Ghana, Alan Kyeremanten has come very far with the NPP with regard to serving both the party and the country and holds the potential of making it to the top five and also leading the party to break the eight.
“Speaking of Alan Kyeremanten, I think and know he will surely be chosen among the five candidates on Saturday, and after the superdelegates, he is one of the few people who can lead the NPP to break the eight because his time as Trades Minister has helped lots of the party entrepreneurs and other Ghanaian SME operators,” he said.
Abnego Avor Brown, a Mass Communications student at the Institute of Business Management and Journalism at Krofrom, also stressed that Alan Kyeremanten’s popularity among the internal party structures and track records position him to be in the top five, even though the Vice President has become a favourite.
“The chances of Alan Kyeremanten in the upcoming elections depend on his popularity and track record, even though Dr. Bawumia has become a favourite, Alan still stands as a favourite when it comes to the Ashanti region,” he added.
Stressing on the chances of Alan, Amenkor Theophilus, a Teacher and a graduate student at the University of Cape Coast, said he believes the Ashanti Region will payback Alan’s loyalty by electing him to be part of the top five, but the final congress will rest on the shoulders of the entire national delegates.
“Alan has greater chances within the Ashanti Region because he is one of their own, and the Asantes like rewarding loyalty. Alan has been loyal to them, but the final election is in the hands of the national delegates,” he also stated.
