The National Democratic Congress has decided to maintain Baba Jamal as its candidate for the Ayawaso East parliamentary election, saying annulment of the results of last Saturday's primary was not an option.
This was disclosed by the General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Kwetey, on February 10.
This followed the submission of the report on investigation into alleged vote buying during the party’s parliamentary primary on February 7.
Speaking to journalists after receiving the report, Mr Kwetey said, “The Committee could not annul the primary because the NDC Constitution contains no provision allowing annulment of primaries.”
He also cited time constraints in meeting deadline for filing of nominations by the Electoral Commission as the reason why Baba Jamal has to be presented.
“The decision to present Baba Jamal was influenced by time constraints, as the party must submit a candidate for the impending by-election,” NDC’s General Secretary said.
The Commission, in a January 19 press release, said “nominations would be received at the Ayawaso East Municipal office of the Commission, from Monday, February 9, 2026, to Wednesday, February 11, 2026, between the hours of 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm on each day.”
Mr Kwetey revealed that the Committee recommended that the President sanctions other government appointees who participated in the primary, adding that, “The Committee is to be expanded to seven members to comprehensively address issues of inappropriate conduct during internal elections.”.