My 2007 NPP flagbearership withdrawal in run-off was to prevent party division but didn't work – Alan Kyerematen

Former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen has said his decision to withdraw from the second round of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) presidential primary in 2007 was aimed at preventing further divisions within the party.

Mr. Kyerematen, who was contesting Nana Akufo-Addo in the run-off after neither secured the required 50%+1 votes in the first round, said this at his first press conference since withdrawing from the 2023 NPP flagbearer race last month.

At the Movenpick Hotel in Accra on Monday, September 25, he said, “I withdrew from the second round of the 2007 NPP flagbearer race to avoid further division of the then-already divided party.”

By stepping aside, Mr. Kyerematen said he hoped to foster unity ahead of the crucial 2008 general elections.

The former Trade Minister noted that his good intentions for the NPP did not work as his supporters were sidelined and treated as outcasts in the party.

"Any party member associated with Alan Kyerematen is treated with disdain and considered an outcast," he intimated.

However, he revealed that "All the promises made by the party leadership were never fulfilled."

But sixteen years on, Alan Kyerematen says the unity he sought has still not materialized within the party.

He has now announced his decision to resign from the party and contest as an independent candidate in the upcoming 2024 elections.