Almost immediately after Ayawaso East Member of Parliament (MP), Baba Jamal, was sworn into Parliament by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, on Tuesday, March 10, images of the newly sworn-in MP sleeping began circulating online.

Reacting to the images, the former High Commissioner to Nigeria indicated that they were manipulated and do not reflect what actually occurred during parliamentary proceedings.

“There are several of the photos going around. Even one of them had me with my mouth wide open. These are AI-generated photos,” he explained during an interview with Accra-based Okay FM.

Baba Jamal suggested the circulation of the images is part of efforts by some individuals to discredit him following what he described as a significant moment in his political journey.

“People would always want to dent every beautiful thing when it happens,” he added.

His swearing-in came after constituents in Ayawaso East on Tuesday, March 3, elected the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed as their MP.

More than 49,000 registered voters participated in the by-election conducted at 113 polling stations. Baba Jamal polled 10,884 votes to beat the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) Yussif Baba Ali, who secured 4,009 votes.

The three other contestants were the Liberal Party of Ghana’s (LPG) candidate, Ibrahim Iddrisu, who polled 43 votes; Independent candidate Alhaji Mohammed Umaru Sanda secured 1,885 votes; and another Independent candidate, David Kanor, had 104 votes.

Ahead of the by-election, a poll by Global InfoAnalytics predicted victory for Baba Jamal. The survey projected that the NDC candidate would secure about 75 per cent of the votes, ahead of his main contender, the NPP’s Baba Ali.

The by-election saw low voter turnout. The NDC now has 186 seats in Parliament.

“At the end of the voting exercise for the parliamentary by-election for the Ayawaso East constituency, five candidates contested in the polls. The first one is Baba Jamal Mohammed, and he polled 10,884 votes; the second candidate on the ballot, Ibrahim Iddrisu Mohammed, also polled 43 votes; Yusuf Ali Baba polled 4,009 votes.

“The fourth candidate, Mohammed Umah Sunda, also polled 1,885 votes. The fifth candidate, an independent candidate, David Kanor, polled 104 votes.

“In all, we had 16,928 valid votes, 120 votes were rejected, and in that case, the total votes cast amount to 17048. Looking at the just announced results, I, Samuel Anim Ofori, the retaining officer of the Ayawaso East constituency, hereby announce to you your new MP elect Baba Jamal Mohammed,” the retaining officer stated.

Reacting to the announcement, Baba Jamal noted, “In the first place, I want to thank the almighty Allah for giving us this victory. Let me say that I dedicate this victory to my 93-year-old mother. I also want to thank my wife and my children for standing beside me and supporting me this far”.

For months, the constituency had been without representation following the death of its long-serving legislator, Alhaji Mahama Naser Toure. He was reported dead on January 4 after a short illness at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. In accordance with Islamic customs, he was buried within 24 hours of his passing.

Naser Toure Mahama was widely regarded as a grassroots politician whose parliamentary work focused on urban renewal in Nima and youth empowerment within Zongo communities.

Baba Ali was projected to trail with 21%, independent candidate Umaru Sanda Muhammed expected to poll 3% of the vote, with the other remaining candidates, Ibrahim Iddrisu and David, to garner less than 1%.

Independent aspirant Umaru Sanda Muhammed, who recently severed ties with the NDC, was projected to secure about 3 per cent of the vote.

The by-election attracted heightened attention in recent days amid internal developments within the NDC, including allegations of vote buying during its parliamentary primary.

On February 7, Baba Jamal won the Ayawaso East Constituency primary following the party’s internal primary held.

After the close of polls, provisional results showed that Baba Jamal polled 431 votes out of the total votes cast, followed by the widow of the late Ayawaso MP, Naser Toure Hajia Amina Adam, who secured 399 votes.

Mr Mohammed Ramne, the Ayawaso East NDC Constituency Chairman, placed third with 88 votes. Dr Yakubu Azindow received 45 votes, while Mr Najib Mohammed Sani received 1 vote.