Anti-corruption campaigner Vitus Azeem has taken a swipe at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for endorsing Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed as its cand
Anti-corruption campaigner Vitus Azeem has taken a swipe at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for endorsing Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed as its candidate for the Ayawaso East by-election, despite findings of vote-buying during the party’s parliamentary primaries.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday, Mr Azeem said the party squandered a critical chance to prove its commitment to ethical politics and internal accountability.
According to him, even if the NDC did not want to completely bar the candidate, it should have imposed some form of sanction to send a clear warning against electoral malpractice.
“They have woefully failed to make a point. At the very least, they could have imposed a fine or some form of punishment. Simply clearing him to contest the by-election does not make sense,” he remarked.
His criticism follows the NDC’s decision to maintain Baba Jamal as its flagbearer in the Ayawaso East by-election, despite a three-member internal committee confirming allegations of vote-buying during the primaries.
Mr Azeem warned that such actions risk entrenching the culture of inducement in Ghana’s electoral process and further eroding public trust in political parties’ ability to police themselves.
He urged political parties across the divide to adopt firmer, more consistent sanctions against vote-buying and related misconduct, stressing that without decisive action, internal democracy would remain compromised.
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