The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has defended the swift action taken by its National Executive Committee in response to allegations of vote buying during its recent parliamentary primaries, describing the move as timely and necessary to curb what it considers an unhealthy political culture within the party.
Mahdi Gibril, Acting Director of Elections and IT for the NDC, said although some party members and independent observers may view the party’s actions as inappropriate, the leadership is focused on putting in place systems and structures to sanitise internal elections.
He made these remarks on the Adekyee Mu Nsem morning show on Ahotor 92.3 FM, hosted by Alexander Nana Dogbey in Accra.
In a related development, the NDC has explained why it is unable to annul the Ayawaso East parliamentary primary, despite allegations of vote buying. The party has retained Mohammed Baba Jamal as its candidate for the upcoming by-election.
The controversy stems from the parliamentary primary held on Saturday, February 7, during which allegations of inducement were raised. Baba Jamal has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
A three-member committee set up to investigate the claims submitted a report that informed the party’s final decision.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, February 10, NDC General Secretary Fifi Kwetey outlined several constraints that prevented the annulment of the primary.
He cited time limitations, explaining that the Electoral Commission was expected to close nominations for the by-election on Wednesday, February 11, leaving the party with little room to restart the process.
Mr. Kwetey also referenced legal and constitutional challenges, noting that the party’s constitution does not provide for the annulment of parliamentary primaries under such circumstances.
“The committee’s report is that ideally, we should annul the primary. However, it acknowledges that there are real obstacles that make it difficult for us to do so. The party’s constitution does not have provisions for annulment of the election,” he said.
“We are time-bound because we need to present a candidate to the EC on February 11, and there are potential legal challenges that could be mounted by the winner. In light of that, the party has taken the recommendations and has no option but to present Baba Jamal as our candidate.”
Mr. Kwetey further disclosed that the NDC plans to expand the investigative committee as part of broader internal reforms aimed at strengthening party processes.
“We are going to conduct a comprehensive review of the entire process that led to our internal elections. We are expanding the committee by adding four more members to make it a seven-member committee, so they can come up with recommendations to address this inappropriate canker in our internal elections,” he added.
He also revealed that the committee found instances of inappropriate conduct involving all the candidates, further underscoring the need for reforms to prevent similar issues in future internal contests.
Meanwhile, Mahdi Gibril expressed confidence that the party is ready to rally behind Baba Jamal to reclaim the Ayawaso East seat. He described the candidate as experienced, formidable, and capable of working hard to secure victory for the NDC.
The party has since reaffirmed Mohammed Baba Jamal as its parliamentary candidate as it prepares to contest the Ayawaso East by-election.