Alan Kyerematen's 'vote for Christian President' comment not criminal — Franklin Cudjoe

The founding president of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has defended Alan Kyerematen's call for Ghanaians to vote for a Christian president, saying the comment is not criminal.

Mr. Kyerematen made the comment at a church during the Easter festive period urging Christians to vote for a Christian and Christ-like leader.

“As a predominantly Christian nation and as Christians, it is our responsibility to ensure that we elect a Christian leader who is also a Christlike leader,” said the 2024 independent presidential candidate.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, April 4, the policy analyst said "I will defend Alan Kyerematen any day on the second comment[voting for a Christian leader]. It is NOT criminal, but let us settle this with science and data."

However, Cudjoe agreed with Kyerematen's call for Ghanaians to vote for a "Christlike candidate" but not necessarily a Christian.

To support his argument, Mr. Cudjoe cited results from a nationwide survey conducted by IMANI Africa which found that 57% of Ghanaians support the idea of a Muslim becoming president while 40% did not support a Muslim presidency.

According to the IMANI boss, attacking Mr. Kyerematen's comments is unfounded because the issue should be settled through empirical data and reasoned debate rather than attacks.

Read his full post below:
“I have followed the debate that started when Movement for Change's leader Hon. ALAN Kyerematen proclaimed to a church congregation that, Christians must vote for a Christlike candidate. He is also reported to have said Christians should vote for a Christian.

I align my self with the first statement of voting for a Christlike candidate.

I do not agree with the second point, but I will defend Alan Kyerematen any day on the second comment. It is NOT criminal, but let us settle this with science and data.

A recent nationwide field survey l directed revealed that 57% of respondents (20, 010 )support the idea of a Muslim becoming president, while 40% did not support a Muslim presidency. Only 3% of the respondents declined to answer the question.

To appreciate how reflective IMANI's Social Media-driven Sentiment Analysis is playing out on the ground level, a detailed study was conducted from December 28th, 2023, to January 25th, 2024, during which 20,010 respondents were interviewed by 317 enumerators across all 16 administrative regions of Ghana.

The respondents were a mix of workers
in both formal and informal sectors, including those on the streets, in households, farmlands, and markets.”