NDC Ayawaso East Primary Alleged Voter Bribery Exposes Grassroot Misunderstanding of Resetting Ghana Agenda? Is NDC Communications Failing?

Ayawasu East constituency is not alien to renowned inhabitants who have distinguished themselves in various sectors of Ghana's development since independence. In fact, the constituency has produced many distinguished personalities that cuts across all sectors of national developement. One example is the former president of Ghana, Nana Akuffo Addo.

The spectacle at the just ended NDC Ayawaso East constituency Parliamentary primary on February 7, 2026, relative to vote buying allegations that captured some NDC supporters in the contest boldly and openly defending what Ghana's criminal code of 1960 consider a crime, is shocking.

It begs for the question, is the NDC grassroot really abreast with what the party's reset agenda mean and seeks to achieve? Is it a situation of relegating the resetting agenda to only the cedi-dollar, fuel-dumsor, and arrest of political figures suspected to have defrauded the state or caused financial loss to the state type of economy narative, and thinking decent electoral process has nothing to do with the economy? Or it is an issue of the NDC communication centering its armbits to only partisan political communications designed to win power and that the real education of its members/grassroot to live within the tenets of good governance matters not? The party needs to include electoral education to its structure if the National Committee for Civic Education (NCCE) is failing, and must advocate for government to resource NCCE to help irradicate this vote buying canker.

Well if that is how the NDC communications is designed; to only promote the work of His Excellency the president and the party but not to add value to its grassroots knowledge of Ghana's acceptable elecoral process, and to dessist from such shameful acts and accelerate Ghana's development the president preaches, then monitization of elections must be unfortunately declared the new normal. After all, the NDC party has a two-third majority. The majority must not be misused.

Now the 'shaky' Special Prosecutor has a reason to equate this unfortunate mimicking of voter inducing canker the late Dr. Omane Boamah, Joseph Yamin, Jakpa and others fiersely fought against in 2024, with a high scale vote buying syndicate ochestrated by the NPP in their just ended presidential primary.

Has the NDC soon forgotten about the Assin North stop-the-vote-buying operations that changed the electoral dynamics to create a level playing ground for not-so-rich MPs to win for the two-third majority to be realised? Assin North and other constituencies are probably composing songs to welcome the NDC in any elections. Do not give them the reason to sing those songs to you.

This act, known by many to be the trademark and reserve of Professor Frimpong Boateng's recently diagnosed 'Fake' New Patriotic Party (NPP) party seems to have sadly infected the Ayawaso East constituency of National Democratic Party (NDC).

The citizenry is wildly surprised at the videos circulating on social media giving credence to the alleged voter inducement during February 7, 2026, NDC primaries to select a candidate to contest in the upcoming by-elections, occasioned after the demise of the Member of Parliament for the Ayawaso East constituency, the late Hon. Mahama Toure Nazer.

The contestants alleged to have bribed voters with cash, electronic gadgets and food forgot the 'democratic' part of their political party's name.

If such alleged bribery took place in just a primary with defense from some being just a gift not meant to induce the voter, what then would be that gift on the day before or on the day of the byelection?

If any contestant was obsessed with gifting for good reason, why a day before voting or voting day?

President Rawlings indeed was a visionary. He saw some of these isolated incidents long ago looking for an opportunity to creep into the NDC party, and he chose one of their biggest rallies then in support for the current president H.E. John Mahama at their campaign launch ahead of the 2016 presidential election national, and begged for the listening ears of the teaming party members when he stood behind the podium and delivered his famous 'NPP cannot be under estimated’ caution.

He said "...the NPP cannot be underestimated; you know it, I know it. They have been in existence for a long time and have been changing their names up till this day. The nature of who they are, what they are, where they have come from, is something they are happy with

and they will be there for a long time. Let us not mimic their behavior; let us reach into the principles and values that came. That emerged out of the circumstances that gave birth to us; and if we can hold onto those principles and those values, we will move way into the future, and no one can ever defeat us. We will ride and override any obstacle as we did in the past".

Coincidentally, president Mahama is the sitting president, and when an incumbent party members, including a serving official in his government, and in no less a capacity than 'High Commissioner' to a neighboring West African country is alleged to be involved in this disgraceful mimicking of the NPP, especially when the same act was recently awakened at their just ended presidential primaries and being condemn by the citizenry. The condemnation grew when videos depicting huge sums of money in cash and digitized; courtesy 'Momo' shared to delegates to render their brains and thumbs sold to the highest bidder to help them recognize them on ballot papers bastardizing democracy circulating.

The NDC as a party has quickly come out officially to condemn the alleged bribery of voters and promised investigation with a possible rerun. That was very swift initiative-taking on their part, especially in the era of zero tolerance for corruption and resetting Ghana.

The presidency has also swiftly released a statement condemning reports of voter inducement and removed the High Commissioner to Nigeria from post effective immediately as investigations by the party structures continue.

The NDC should conduct a comprehensive investigation and disqualify anyone found guilty of bribing voters, whether through gifts or food given on election day, from participating in the rerun of the election. This will send a strong message to future potential culprits.

In Ghana, the Criminal code of 1960 sections 240 and 241 clearly confirms vote buying to be an offence seen as a corrupt act.

According to Section 240, corruption occurs when a voter accepts or consents to be influenced by any gift, promise, or offer of something valuable, whether it is directly or indirectly.

Section 241 on the other hand talks about the politician who influences that voter to have indulged in a corrupt function as well.

Ayawaso East constituency deserves an MP that will be a positive influence on the constituents, one who will use his or her influence to bring them development and advocate their grievances in Parliament, not one who will pay them or give them gifts to influence their votes, making mockery of their civic liberty.

I rest My PEN.
Mustapha Alhassan
Pennsylvania, USA