A spokesperson for Alan Kyeremanteng, presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party has advised strategists for Nana Akufo-Addo to stop portraying Nana Addo as the flagbearer of the party. Yaw Buabeng Asamoah said the flag-bearer election is not a done deal, adding his candidate has a groundswell of support from the delegates to cause a major political upset. He was responding to comments by Yaw Osafo Maafo, former Finance Minister under the erstwhile NPP administration and a member of the Nana Addo 2012 campaign team that the party is better off with Nana. Mr Maafo explained in an interview with Joy News that the trend of Ghana’s recent political history indicates that no candidate wins an election in his first attempt. Chronicling different political scenarios, Mr. Maafo said ex-president Kufuor competed in two different elections before he won the presidency in 2000. President John Mills, he added, also competed in three elections (2000, 2004 and 2008) before he was crowned as president. Under the circumstances, Mr. Maafo believes the party is better off with Nana Addo who garnered 49 per cent votes in his first attempt as presidential candidate. He said Nana Addo’s political experience as compared to the other competing candidates is unmatched, adding that the former presidential candidate has won three elections as Member of Parliament, and held key positions in ex-president Kufuor’s administration. He however encouraged Alan Kyerematen, a strong contender in the presidential primaries, to contest vigorously for the position. But Yaw Buabeng, spokesperson for Alan, said the argument that his candidate cannot win the election on his first attempt is not sustainable. He also dismissed assertions that Alan is not as experienced as Nana Addo, arguing that political experience is not always a necessity to win an election. Citing the example of the US election in 2008, Mr Buabeng said Barack Obama, relatively inexperienced, beat his contender, John McCain to win the elections. He had early on dispatched with ease his democrat contender Hilary Clinton who is also relatively experienced, Yaw Asamoah noted. Having campaigned vigorously, Mr Buabeng insists the delegates have shown enough support for Alan Kyerematen with all indications pointing to an Alan victory. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana