Mr Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed has won the Ayawaso East Constituency primary and is set to represent the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as its parliamentary candidate ahead of the March 3 by-election, following the party’s internal primary held on February 7, 2026.

After the close of polls, the provisional results showed that Baba Jamal pulled 431 of the total votes cast, followed by the widow (Hajia Amina Adam) of the late Ayawaso MP, Naser Toure, who also won 399 votes. Mr Mohammed Ramne, the Ayawaso East NDC Constituency Chairman, placed third with 88 votes. Dr Yakubu Azindow obtained 45 votes, while Mr Najib Mohammed Sani recorded one vote.

The closely contested primary attracted more than 1,100 accredited delegates from across the constituency, reflecting the high stakes involved in selecting a candidate for the by-election in a seat widely regarded as a stronghold of the governing NDC.

Five aspirants contested the race. They were Hajia Amina Adam, Mr Baba Jamal, Dr Yakubu Azindow, who had previously contested the late MP in the 2023 primary, Mr Mohammed Ramne and Mr Mohammed Sani.

Although the race was initially considered open, it later narrowed into a tight contest among Mr Jamal, Hajia Amina Adam and Dr Azindow.

Even though the election was peaceful on Saturday, reports of vote-buying emerged on the eve of the election and on election day, involving some candidates, including Baba Jamal, who, at the time, was Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria and allegedly offered television sets and other items to delegates.

Videos circulating on social media showed some delegates leaving polling centres carrying television sets and other items.

Reacting to the vote-buying allegations, the NDC, in a statement signed by its Secretary, Fiifi Kwetey, announced that it will investigate the allegations. It noted that it has set up a three-member committee to probe the allegations.

In a statement issued on the same day, the NDC said its national executives had taken note of what it described as widespread incidents of inducement and vote buying allegedly perpetrated by some aspirants.

The party condemned the acts, describing them as an affront to its values and principles, and announced that it had launched investigations into the matter.

“In line with the Party's commitment to internal democracy, transparency, and ethical political conduct, the Committee will investigate the allegations and make appropriate recommendations, including sanctions where necessary,” the statement said.

The Presidency has announced a recall of Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Baba Jamal, over voter inducement during the just-ended Ayawaso East primaries on Saturday, February 7.

In a statement titled “President recalls Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria and shared by Spokesperson to the President, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, dated February 7, it noted that

“President John Dramani Mahama has directed the immediate recall of Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed (Baba Jamal) from his position as Ghana’s High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The decision follows allegations of voter inducement during today’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries in the Ayawaso East Constituency, in which Mr Baba Jamal, a candidate, participated.”

The President stressed that reports of vote-buying were made against several candidates seeking to win the Ayawaso seats, but Baba Jamal stood out because he was the only person who was a serving public officer at the time, making his case a peculiar one.

“In his directive to the Minister for Foreign Affairs recalling Mr Baba Jamal as High Commissioner, the President noted that while allegations of vote-buying were made against multiple candidates who contested the primaries, Baba Jamal was the only serving public officer among them.”

Consequently, to protect the integrity of public office and to avoid any public suspicion of misconduct or violation of the Government’s Code of Conduct for Political Appointees, the President,

“Without prejudice to the ongoing internal party processes, and strictly in view of the standards of conduct expected of public officers, the President considers it necessary to act decisively to preserve the integrity of public office and to avoid any perception of impropriety or conflict with the Government’s Code of Conduct for Political Appointees.”

The statement continued that, “the recall takes effect immediately, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs has been directed to take the necessary administrative and diplomatic steps to give effect to this directive.”