“Baba Jamal’s name will be forever tainted with vote-buying” – Kpebu

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Makay
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Baba Jamal

Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Ayawaso East, Baba Jamal, will be forever tainted with vote-buying.  

Kpebu criticises the NDC for failing to annul the Ayawaso East parliamentary primary despite widespread vote-buying.

According to lawyer Kpebu, the NDC has so many seats in parliament already and missing out on one seat to send a direct message against the vote buying would have endeared the party to Ghanaians, adding that the party missed the opportunity.

Speaking on TV3 Keypoints, Martin Kpebu stated, “The NDC should have annulled the Ayawaso East Parliamentary primary due to vote buying we all saw. Baba Jamal’s name will forever be tainted”.

Also, Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, has said the NDC should have sacrificed the seat to end vote-buying.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, February 14, Mr Cudjoe stated, “I was angry that the NDC held an election marred by the naked exchange of gifts and money. For once, I thought we were going to see the end of monetisation in our elections”.

“Even if they lose that seat, what is the point? They have so many seats. If any party could change the perception, I thought this current NDC would have been the best to do that.”

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has cleared Baba Jamal of his vote-buying allegations during the party’s parliamentary primary held on Saturday, February 7.

According to the NDC, they are unable to annul the Ayawaso East parliamentary primary, as several constraints block the annulment of the primary.

He further cited that the Electoral Commission is expected to close nominations for the by-election on Wednesday, February 11, which leaves the NDC no room to restart the process.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, February 10, the NDC’s General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, stated, “The committee’s report is that ideally, we should have annulment of the primary. However, the committee acknowledges that there are real obstacles that make it difficult for us to do that. The party’s constitution doesn’t have a provision for annulment of the election.

“We are time-bound because we need to present a candidate to the EC on February 11, and there are legal challenges that could be mounted by whoever won. In light of that, the party has taken the recommendations, and we have no option but to present Baba Jamal as our candidate,” he said.

He added, “We’re going to do a comprehensive review of the whole process that led to our internal elections. We’re expanding the committee by adding four more members, to make it a 7-member committee, so that they come out with recommendations to deal with this inappropriate canker as far as the elections are concerned”.

Also, Baba Jamal has been granted a self-recognisance bail by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

Reports suggest that Baba Jamal, after several hours of interrogation at the Office of the Special Prosecutor, walked out after promising full cooperation with authorities.

According to his lawyer, Victor Kwadjoga Adawudu, his client was questioned on vote-buying linked to the NDC’s parliamentary primary and also the allegation of abetting thugs to physically attack their officer.

Victor Kwadjoga Adawudu, in an interview expalined, “He was also asked about an alleged incident involving an officer from the OSP, who reportedly faced assault while serving an invitation letter to him”.

“If he had known, and as a lawyer, he would have informed people about the legal position,” Adawudu added.

The development follows the OSP, fingered the newly elected National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso East by-election, Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed, for inciting attacks on one of its officers.

According to the OSP, during the NDC primaries, their officer was on the ground for a real-time investigation when Baba Jamal allegedly abetted thugs to physically attack their officer.

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