Former presidential candidate for the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and chairman of the National Interest Movement (NIM) Ghana, Dr. Michael Abu Sakara Foster, has added his voice to comments following Alan Kyerematen’s withdrawal from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential race.

He says Alan’s withdrawal will pave the way for intense competition between Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, in their campaign as presidential candidates for the NPP.

Dr. Abu Sakara, who spoke on Joy Prime’s morning show, pointed out that both presidential aspirants are financially influential in the affairs of the NPP, therefore, he as a citizen, is looking forward to seeing its impact in the party’s upcoming primaries.

"In respect of the dynamics of the situation, it leaves the door open for a much more intense competition between Kennedy Agyapong and Bawumia. So, it will be very interesting to see what impact that has on that election because, as we all know, that particular political tradition is one that is conservative, the one in which the base is very important, so it will be interesting to see the extent to which either candidate appeals to the base and then places it into the outcome of the election because there’s a limit to what money can do…," he told Roselyn Felli on Wednesday.

Money has been a major influence in politics. However, according to Dr. Abu Sakara, its weakness is usually exposed when it is broadened out to a vast number of people.

That notwithstanding, he thinks this, among other measures, was put into consideration within the internal politics of the NPP in the selection of their representatives.

Although he does not condone the idea of monetary influence in politics, he commended the NPP for selecting its candidates based on the idea of using such a mechanism to check the influence of money.

"It means that they have a mechanism to check the influence of money in the system and ensure that the popular vote of the grassroots base is reflected. So, let’s wait and see if that happens," he counselled.

Dr. Abu Sakara expressed his disappointment in the violent acts that were recorded at the just-ended super delegates conference of the NPP. He thinks it should not have happened because the party claims to be champions of democracy.

This makes him feel such practices are putting Ghana’s democracy on the line, which politicians should be concerned about.