Women Tip Alan for President

As the campaign for the presidential bid of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) gets hotter and more robust, a number of women in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, have waded into the political waters of the party, using different kinds of permutations to zero down on which of the aspirants should lead the party in the 2008 general elections.

Of the 19 presidential aspirants of the party, the women identified Mr. Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, former Minister of Trade, Industry, PSD and PSI, who is said to be of mixed ancestry, as the best aspirant to take over from President Kufuor in 2009.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in separate interviews, the women, the majority of them business magnates of different religious backgrounds, said if elections were held today between Mr. Kyerematen, also known as 'Alan Cash' and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Prof. J.E.A Mills, they would vote for the former.

The women, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the former minister as a handsome man with an appealing stature and striking presidential traits, and expressed the opinion that he is a charismatic person who could easily attract many Ghanaian women who constitute the majority of voters.

They said although other aspirants of the party may be equally good in terms of efficiency, Mr. Kyerematen's presidential peculiarities are not dissimilar to that of President Kufuor. The women are of the view that with these qualities, the party would find it easy to market the aspirant as its presidential candidate.

They passionately appealed to prospective delegates to the December congress of the party to massively vote for Alan Kyerematen as their flagbearer, bearing in mind his numerous ministerial achievements, international exposure and academic credentials.

For their part, handlers of the Alan Kyerematen campaign team in the region said the aspirant's campaign message had gone down well with the leading members of the party, many of whom are likely to vote as delegates at the impending National Delegates' Conference of the party slated for December 22 at the University of Ghana, Legon.

They gave assurance of the aspirant's preparedness to join hands with the other contenders should he be elected presidential candidate of the party on December 22 to ensure that the party hands over power to itself in 2009. The NPP's flagbearership race towards the 2008 general elections has produced such a crowded list that observers think many factors will come into play in selecting a candidate.

Nearly 80 percent of the 19 aspirants were once ministers in the current government, making it difficult to choose between them in terms of performance.

Some party loyalists have stressed that age, eloquence, physique, complexion, ethnic background, and religion should all be considered in choosing the party's candidate for president.