The former Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey says the New Patriotic Party must reconcile the differences between its members before the December elections. “When there is a disagreement or a misunderstanding in a family, what you do according to our tradition is to try to get together and reconcile. “Every effort should be made to patch the differences and to reconcile any groups or elements within the party that may not see eye to eye on any matter”, he stated. Mr. Ala Adjetey who is a founding member of the NPP was reacting to the resignation of former flag bearer aspirant of the party, Mr. Alan Kyerematen. He told Joy FM’s Evans Mensah that Mr. Kyerematen’s resignation was least expected but added that the extent to which the issue affects the chances of the NPP in the next elections depends on how the leadership of the party handles the matter. The former speaker rejected suggestions that Mr. Kyerematen’s resignation could lead to a situation like the one in 1979 when the United Party, the antecedent of the NPP handed the elections on a silver platter to Dr. Hilla Limann and his Peoples National Party, saying the two scenarios were not the same. In 1979, internal bickering in the UP led to a section of the supporters of the party breaking away and forming the Popular Front Party led by Victor Owusu. This was believed to have cost the UP the 1979 elections. But Mr. Ala Adjetey says the 1979 situation could not be repeated in the 2008 elections admitting however that he did not have enough information on the current issues. The editor of Daily Dispatch newspaper, Mr. Ben Ephson however believes Mr. Kyermaten’s resignation had the potential to affect the chances of the NPP in the December polls. He told Joy News that although no single individual was bigger than a political party, the influence of people who had political clout such as Mr. Kyerematen could not be underestimated. He said the intimidation of Alan’s supporters by supporters of the flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo was particularly bad for the party. Disagreeing with him, a Political Scientist at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwesi Jonah said the records had shown that the impact of break away individuals or political parties on major political parties was negligible. He added that the pre-congress allegations of vote buying leveled against Mr. Kyerematen made it particularly difficult for his resignation to have any significant impact on the chances of the NPP in the 2008 elections. The former Trade Minister who engaged in flamboyant campings during December 22, 2007 NPP primaries tendered in his resignation from the party on Thursday-a move that has shocked many. He cited intimidation of his supporters by those of the flag bearer of the party Nana Akufo-Addo as one of the reasons why resigned from the party. Story by Malik Abass Daabu