As accusations and counter accusations of extravagance and opulence rage on from within and outside the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) over flaunting of money left, right and centre, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, one of the party's front runners in the flagbearership race, to whom most of the accusing fingers are pointing has broken his silence. Speaking to The Independent in an exclusive interview, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, who is known in Ghanaian political circles as "Alan Cash" threw a challenge to anyone to explain to him how one could win an election without financing campaign activities, which has nothing to do with doling out monies to people for the sake of buying votes. Mr. Alan Kyerematen, former Minister for Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiatives (PSIs) enquired that, if indeed one will spend money to buy votes, why would one spend money on individuals who may have no voting power at the congress to elect the flagbearer of the party. He told this reporter in reaction to what has become obviously, a clear campaign of vilification and whipping up of negative sentiments against him in view of his campaign strategies. He noted that, as a front runner in the race for the flagbearership of the NPP, he has accepted the fact that, he will be subjected to vicious attacks from within and outside the party. Mr. Kyerematen told The Independent that, he believes that, the smear campaigns are all part of the political game, but pointed out that, he has declined to react to such allegations to protect the unity of the party. Earlier, a political analyst had told this reporter that there is absolutely no doubt that the very impressive campaign launch of Mr. Kyerematen, one of the leading aspirants, has drawn a variety of comments from members of the various political parties and the public at large. He said, while some people are of the view that, the event was a perfect reflection of excellent organizational and tactical skills, having come only two days after the official opening of nominations, others are of the view that, it was more of a show of opulence and extravagance. The political analyst said, an objective analysis of the type of people who attended the event and the very essence of organizing the event in the first place, will clearly establish that, the event was a smart political move intended first, to establish a clear lead in the presidential aspirants race, and secondly, to provide an opportunity for potential delegates as well as the rank and file of the party to be part of such a historical event. He said the fact that many of those who attended the campaign launch may be potential delegates, it definitely provided the opportunity for them to assess the strength of the candidate as well as hear his message. According to him, the issue of money could therefore not have been the most significant element underpinning the event, since from his special investigations, those party members who attended the event were only given transport allowances and that, no one was induced to attend the function. This, he said, seems to be consistent with what all the other aspirants are engaged in by providing transport allowances to party members who they invite to listen to them when they go around the country. Another aspect of the campaign launch that seems to be dominating the political climate in the last few days, he said, is the opportunity for the aspirants to share their vision with the country as a whole rather than with only party members. The political analyst indicated that, the allegations of money flaunting by some aspirants does not seem to be supported by any concrete evidence. The analyst advised that, with barely three months left for the December 22 congress of the NPP, aspirants will concentrate on the real work at hand and avoid making negative comments about other aspirants, which have the tendency of destabilizing the unity of the party. In a related development, there have been series of publications detailing results of a survey on NPP aspirants and their chances. The survey also provides information on the potential chances of both the NPP and NDC in the 2008 general elections. The survey results seem to have drawn very serious comments from the general public against the authenticity and transparency of the polls purported to have been conducted by a company named, Research International. This seems to have discredited both the research company and the results of their polls, particularly as it has been found to have been conducted as far back as end of May but are now being publicized and represented as the latest opinion poll on the chances of aspirants. Most of the aspirants that The Independent reached for their comments on the survey results, expressed total lack of confidence and interest in the findings. Source: The Independent