Anti-corruption campaigner Vitus Azeem has criticised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for maintaining Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed as its candidate for the upcoming Ayawaso East by-election, despite unresolved allegations of vote-buying during the party’s parliamentary primary.

Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday, Mr Azeem said the party’s decision did not come as a surprise, describing vote-buying as a “normal practice” among political parties in Ghana.

“I mean that I did not expect anything different from the party. Because when we live in this country, we know that this thing is a normal practice amongst the parties. They don’t find anything wrong with it. So I’m not surprised.”

The NDC General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, had earlier announced that the party would proceed with Baba Jamal as its candidate after the Functional Executive Committee received a report from a three-member investigative committee.

According to Mr Kwetey, although the committee recommended that the primaries should ideally be annulled, the party was unable to do so due to constitutional and logistical constraints.

“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,” he explained.

He also noted that any attempt to overturn the results could lead to legal challenges, further complicating the party’s preparations for the by-election.

However, Vitus Azeem argued that the party failed to take meaningful action, especially after the committee established the allegations of vote-buying.

“They have woefully failed to make a point,” he said. “At worst, they would have fined him an amount of money, but just clearing him to go ahead with the by-election doesn’t make sense.”

Mr Azeem also questioned the committee’s recommendation that the President should sanction the other contenders involved in the primary, similar to actions taken against Baba Jamal.

He explained that such sanctions would not apply because the other aspirants are not public officers.

“The President said Baba Jamal was the only public officer. So it has to be the President who sanctions him, unless they want to prosecute him, because I don’t see how the President can sanction the other members.”