The dream of John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, to feature on the presidential ballot paper and ultimately occupy the topmost office of the land is nearing reality as he successfully filed his nomination to contest as president in the December 7, 2024 election.
Mr Kyerematen's first shot at the presidential candidacy started in 2007 while with the New Patriotic Party when he ceded to now President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo after the two failed to cross the 50 per cent mark in the internal poll.
Mr Kofi Koranten (middle) Independence presidential candidate presenting his document to Mr Samuel Tetteh, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, EC Mr Samuel Tetteh (right) Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, EC receiving NDP presidential candidate forms from Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong, the Flagbearer He also contested the 2010 and 2014 primaries of the NPP and the 2023 special delegates of the party where the number of flagbearer hopefuls was prune down to five from 10 before quitting the governing party to form the Movement for Change.
Filing his nomination with the Electoral Commission in Accra yesterday, Mr Kyerematen announced that he had settled on a "young dynamic lawyer and broadcaster, Kwame Owusu Danso" as his running mate.
In the company of his wife, Mr Kyerematen was accompanied by members of the Alliance for Revolutionary Change, the umbrella under which he will contest the election. "What most Ghanaians have been praying for is a day like this that Alan Kyerematen will finally file to contest the presidential election," he declared.
Mr Kyerematen said his record in and out of government, locally and internationally, puts him in pole position to take up the mantle of leadership in 2025. "Ghanaians are looking for a president who will fight for the interest of Ghana first and not a political party, a president who will unite the nation and not divide it, a president who will establish a government of national unity and truly representative, a government for the people, of the people and by the people. "Ghanaians are looking for a president who'll execute and lead the process of constitutional reform that will help improve the quality of governance in our country and a president who will inspire behavioural and mindset change.
He charged the youth to rally behind his candidature to bring real change to bear on governance in the country.
Meanwhile, two other presidential candidate hopefuls, Kofi Koranteng, an independent candidate and Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong of the National Democratic Party have also filed their nominations, bringing to 11 candidates who have so far filed.
For Mr Koranteng, the deprivation he has seen in his campaign tours motivates him to end the duopoly of the NDC and the NPP. "We believe our policies are the solutions to the failed system.
We need to change leadership because what Ghana needs is leadership," he stated.
On his part, Alhaji Frimpong said a future NDP government is what Ghana needs to get back on the path of progress and prosperity.
He announced Madam Collin Wood Williams Christiana as his running mate for the poll.