General News of Friday, 29 September 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Factionalism, divisiveness affecting the NPP – Ex-president Kufuor

Ex-president John Agyekum Kufour (right) with president Akufo-Addo | File photo play videoEx-president John Agyekum Kufour (right) with president Akufo-Addo | File photo

The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is suffering from unnecessary factionalism and divisiveness, former president John Agyekum Kufuor has observed.

In an interview with TV3 (September 28, 2023), the statesman said the liberal democratic principles on which the party was founded has largely been adulterated as compared to how it was in the early 1990s.

“The commitment to liberal democratic principles might not be as pure and the same as it used to be, say around 1992. Now, I don’t think that commitment is the same. The way I feel it, I don’t sense the same feeling, I likened earlier commitment to a religion, I don’t sense that now.

Asked what must have triggered the state of affairs, he responded: “I sense too much talk about factionalism within the group. Proper democracy is an inclusive one and you wouldn’t emphasize factions.

He stressed the importance of internal elections, lamenting how over the years, the outcome of such votes have produced factions and division in the NPP.

“During elections across the party, you wouldn’t be so divisive and be emphasizing factions. He belongs to that side so no cooperation. If you do that you are diving the force. The numerical force that you need for any democratic practice,” he stressed.

The NPP is currently dealing with the breaking away of a former trade minister Alan Kyerematen who has formed a new movement with the view to run in the 2024 polls as an independent presidential candidate.

Alan Kyerematen's decision to run as an independent candidate came on September 25, when he officially resigned from the NPP.

This move followed his withdrawal from the NPP's flagbearer race, which reportedly stemmed from challenges encountered during a Super Delegates Conference held within the party in August 2023.

In his official statement regarding his resignation and independent candidacy, Alan Kyerematen stated, "Under the circumstances and given the context, I am honourably resigning from the New Patriotic Party to contest the high office of the presidency in 2024 as an independent presidential candidate."





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