The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has confirmed that Mohammed Baba Jamal will remain its candidate for the upcoming Ayawaso East by-election, despite unresolved claims of vote-buying during the party’s recent parliamentary primary.

The announcement came from NDC General Secretary Fifi Kwetey after a meeting of the party’s Functional Executive Committee, which reviewed findings from a three-member investigative panel.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Kwetey explained that while "the committee's report was to the effect that, ideally, we should have an annulment of the primaries", certain challenges made it impossible to implement.

"One, the party's constitution does not have a provision for an annulment of an election. Two, we are time-bound because we need to be presenting a candidate by tomorrow to the Electoral Commission. So, given these difficulties, and also there are legal challenges that could be mounted by whoever won, and the party clearly would not be able to go through any of that process without presenting a candidate very quickly," he said.

He added that, considering these constraints, "we have no option but to present Baba Jamal, who actually won, according to the Electoral Commission declaration."

Mr. Kwetey also disclosed that a new, seven-member committee has been set up to design comprehensive reforms aimed at preventing vote-buying in future NDC primaries.

The original investigative panel had been assigned to probe allegations that candidates offered incentives, including televisions and cash, to delegates during the primary held on Saturday, February 7.

Mr. Kwetey noted that "inappropriate conduct was exhibited by virtually all the candidates" throughout the election process.

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.”

Meanwhile, Baba Jamal won the party’s internal primary held ahead of the by-election scheduled for March 3.

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.

Ahead of the elections, a survey conducted by the research and data analytics company Global InfoAnalytics predicted that 58% of members of the ruling NDC support the widow of the late Mahama Naser Toure, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso East Constituency.

This was announced by the Executive Director of the research company, Mussa Dankwah, in Accra on Thursday, February 5.

According to the poll, the widow, Hajia Amina Adam, is the frontrunner among the others in the ongoing Ayawaso East Parliamentary Primary.

The polling data show that 66% of party members disagree with the claim that she should be barred from contesting. The numbers suggest that narratives questioning her eligibility are failing to gain traction within the party.

The poll also revealed that the public’s empathy towards her may boost her campaign and influence her chances of winning. About 43% of general voters indicated they would support Hajia Amina Adam because of the way she has been treated during the contest, while 15% of delegates cited the same factor as influencing their vote.

The analysis basically presents Hajia Adam as securing roughly 54% of the total votes, while Mohammed Baba Jamal, Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria and her main rival, could reach a maximum of 38%.

He noted a 3.2% margin of error in the prediction, which still preserves her lead.

“We asked NDC members in our polls whether it was wrong for Hajia to contest, and 66% of NDC voters disagreed. This means they do not think she should be prevented from contesting. When we asked the delegates, 58% of them also disagreed.

“So both the delegates and the party faithful disagree with that call, which suggests that some people are pushing a narrative that is not selling, yet they keep promoting it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the filing closed with the wife of the late MP being the last to pick up the forms. He said, “At the close of nominations today, six persons picked nomination forms to contest the upcoming primaries. The wife of the late MP was the last person to pick nominations today. It is going to be a very interesting contest.”

Explaining her decision in a statement issued on Thursday, January 22, Hajia Adam indicated that she is heeding calls from constituents, party grassroots members, and traditional elders, adding that these individuals want her to carry on the work of her late husband.

“There has been a clarion call from many quarters in my constituency and beyond for me to step into the shoes of my late husband. After deep reflection and consultations, particularly with elders and grassroots members, I have accepted the call to serve my people,” she stated.

According to her, after reflecting on the calls, she has decided to heed them, emphasising, “I want to assure them that I will not disappoint them.”

In addition, individuals who sought to contest the Ayawaso East parliamentary primary in the Greater Accra Region were required to pay a filing fee of GH₵40,000.