Stop the hypocrisy, vote buying in NDC primaries didn’t start with Baba Jamal — Group blast critics

The Young Progressive Network has condemned what it describes as growing hypocrisy surrounding the controversy over the Ayawaso East NDC parliamentary primary, insisting that vote buying in internal party elections did not begin with Baba Jamal and should not be treated as an isolated moral failure.

In a statement signed by its Communications Director, Patrick Asford Boadu, the group argued that the public uproar following Baba Jamal’s narrow victory would carry more credibility if Ghana’s political class had not, over the years, normalized the very practices it now claims to reject.

According to the group, allegations of delegates receiving television sets, food items, cash, and even motorbikes have dominated public discussion since the primary. While acknowledging that such allegations are serious and warrant scrutiny, the Network described attempts to portray the Ayawaso East incident as unprecedented as disingenuous and insulting to party members and the wider public.

The group pointed out that the NDC itself acknowledged the allegations by announcing an internal investigation into vote buying and inducement, while the Presidency went further to recall Baba Jamal from his diplomatic post, citing integrity concerns linked to the controversy. However, it stressed that honesty requires placing the issue in its proper context.

The Young Progressive Network noted that delegate inducement has been a longstanding feature of internal party contests, long before the Ayawaso East primary. It recalled that following the NDC’s 2023 parliamentary and presidential primaries, civil society organisations, including the Ghana Integrity Initiative, publicly condemned the open distribution of money and goods to delegates, warning that the practice distorted democratic competition and potentially violated Ghana’s criminal laws on undue influence.

The statement further referenced video footage from previous primaries showing aspirants openly distributing cash to delegates, as well as reports of food items and household goods being shared after voting in other constituencies. It also cited instances where the Office of the Special Prosecutor invited aspirants for questioning over suspected corruption linked to inducement during internal elections. Despite these developments, the group said such practices have largely gone unpunished.

Against this background, the Network questioned the sudden surge of moral outrage over the Ayawaso East primary. It argued that if inducement has characterised internal contests for years, including in 2022 and 2023, and if some current party executives themselves emerged from such systems, then selective enforcement raises serious credibility concerns.

The group questioned whether party rules are being applied consistently or selectively, whether enforcement is factional, and whether the current backlash is driven by genuine ethical concerns or dissatisfaction with electoral outcomes.

The Young Progressive Network emphasised that the problem is not unique to the NDC, noting that Ghana’s two dominant political parties have both faced persistent allegations of delegate inducement across parliamentary and presidential primaries. According to the group, governance analysts have long warned that internal elections are increasingly driven by financial power rather than ideas, turning delegate systems into expensive and transactional contests.

It warned that when inducement becomes entrenched, aspirants begin to view internal elections as financial investments to be recovered later in public office, while party leadership loses the moral authority to condemn practices it previously tolerated or ignored.

The statement also recalled that even at the presidential level, late year political activities have often been clouded by allegations of cash distribution to delegates and organisers. Whether proven in every case or not, the group said the perception that money politics has become an open secret within political circles is now widespread.

Calling for reform, the Young Progressive Network urged political parties to confront the issue honestly by first admitting the scale of the problem as a structural defect in delegate based elections. It also called for consistent application of party rules across all factions and election cycles, and for comprehensive reforms to internal electoral systems to reduce the influence of money through greater transparency, monitoring, and accountability.

The group concluded that the Ayawaso East controversy should not be treated as shocking in itself, but rather as an opportunity for honest reflection. It stressed that vote buying in party primaries did not start with Baba Jamal and will not end with him unless political parties abandon selective outrage and address the systems that enable inducement.

According to the statement, Ghana deserves better than political hypocrisy disguised as moral awakening.