Mark Oliver Kevor, a parliamentary aspirant who filed to replace Joseph Appiah Boateng as the governing National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary aspirant for Afram Plains South in the December polls, has stepped down.

This paves way for Eric Osei Owusu, who came second in the party’s parliamentary primary, to contest the 2016 parliamentary elections on the ticket of the NDC.

Mr Kevor, who confirmed his decision to discontinue his ambitions of going to parliament in 2017, told Class FM’s Nabil Ahmed Rufai on Friday October 19 that “it is true” he had stepped down, but declined to give details.

Earlier, both Mr Kevor and Mr Owusu had filed to represent the NDC after Mr Boateng had withdrawn his nomination to contest the polls following an injunction placed on him, pending the determination of a criminal case against him at the Accra High Court.

The MP is alleged to have been convicted of fraud outside the country. Speaking to Emefa Apawu on Class FM’s 505 news programme the same day, Mr Kevor explained that he has “no objections since it is in the interest of the party”.

Mr Owusu had earlier thrown his weight behind Mr Kevor’s nomination but he revealed that he was “not disappointed and only interested in peace and unity in the party”.

He, however, alleged that Mr Kevor bowed to pressure from other members of the party to give up his ambition.

“The forces were great and for how long are you going to fight them, since the forces are more than us and you also have to think about the interest of the party and let things go,” he noted.