The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has confirmed former Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed, popularly known as Baba Jamal, as its candidate for the Ayawaso East parliamentary by-election, despite concerns over alleged misconduct during the party’s internal selection process.
Explaining the decision, Deputy National Communications Officer of the NDC, Ako Gunn, said the party encountered no procedural challenges with the election itself but was troubled by reports of items being distributed to delegates in the names of candidates.
“We didn’t have any challenge with the process. The main issue was the misconduct involving the distribution of items to delegates by some people who were not even known,” Ako Gunn said in an interview on Starrfm monitored by Kumasi Mail.
According to him, all five aspirants who contested the primary admitted that items were distributed in their names, although none of them directly took responsibility for the acts.
Ako Gunn said the investigative committee set up by the party determined that, under normal circumstances, its recommendation would have been the annulment of the election. However, he explained that the NDC’s constitution and guidelines do not provide for annulment in such situations.
“Ideally, the recommendation would have been to annul the election, but the constitution and the guidelines of the party did not give us the power to do that,” he said. “So it was safer to present Baba Jamal, who won the election.”
He added that the party’s decision was also influenced by tight timelines, noting that the NDC had only one day to present its candidate for the by-election.
“Our hands were tied because we had just a day to present our candidate. It would not have been practical to get a replacement for Baba Jamal within that time,” Ako Gunn explained.
Responding to questions about the timing of the investigative committee, he clarified that the committee was set up before the declaration of results, after party officials observed what he described as an “eyesore” during the voting process.
“We even considered stopping the voting at some point,” he said. “We also thought about allowing voting to continue but withholding the declaration of results until investigations were completed, but that option came with its own tensions.”
In the end, he said, the party allowed the election to proceed while the investigation continued.
The NDC national communication officer described the process as an eye-opener for the party and announced that the NDC has extended the mandate of the investigative committee and expanded its membership by adding four more people.
“The committee acknowledged that this is something for which we must find a lasting solution,” he said. “They are expected to come out with recommendations that will be captured in our constitution going forward.”
He said the proposed reforms would clearly spell out sanctions for anyone found engaging in bribery or inducement at any level of the party’s internal elections, including branch, constituency and national contests.
“Looking at where the party has come from, this is not something that should be said about us,” Ako Gunn stressed.
He praised the committee for what he described as a thorough and credible job, adding that portions of its findings would soon be made public to outline how the party intends to address such issues in the future.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
