Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Ayawaso East, appeared before the party’s investigative panel on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, firmly denying allegations of vote buying during the recent party primary.
The appearance came as a three member committee chaired by Kofi Totobi Quakyi, with Mahama Ayariga and lawyer Emefa Fugah as members, examines widespread allegations that some aspirants induced delegates with items including television sets and boiled eggs during the February 7, 2026 primary election.
Mr. Ahmed, popularly known as Baba Jamal, used the opportunity to categorically deny any involvement in vote buying and reiterated his innocence, stating that his political record in the constituency demonstrates respect for internal party democracy. He pledged to avail himself to assist the party in its investigation into the subject matter at any time.
The controversy marks the latest in a series of electoral disputes that have followed Baba Jamal throughout his political career, from the diamond rich town of Akwatia in the Eastern Region where he first made his mark, to the densely populated Ayawaso East constituency in Accra.
Born in Akwatia on May 7, 1969, Baba Jamal’s academic grounding in law and international politics, culminating in his call to the Ghana Bar, provided a foundation for his legal and political career. He served as Deputy General Secretary of the NDC from 2002 to 2009 and later became Member of Parliament for Akwatia from 2013 to 2017.
His early political career in Akwatia was marked by legal challenges, petitions, and reruns, particularly after the closely contested 2008 parliamentary election. The 2008 election saw irregularities that necessitated reruns at six polling stations on August 18, 2009, which Baba Jamal eventually won with 17,777 votes against the NPP’s Kofi Asare who secured 17,160 votes.
In the 2012 general election, Baba Jamal narrowly retained the seat for the NDC against Kofi Asare in another tight race, polling 20,471 votes representing 50.44 percent while Kofi Asare secured 19,914 votes, a margin of just 557 votes. His victory came despite allegations of malpractice by the NPP.
However, in the 2016 general election, Baba Jamal lost the Akwatia seat to the NPP’s Mercy Adu Gyamfi, popularly known as Ama Sey, who delivered the largest NPP victory in Akwatia’s electoral history. Ama Sey secured 22,981 votes representing 57.21 percent against Baba Jamal’s 17,453 votes, representing 42.45 percent.
The issue surrounding his 2016 defeat centered on comments he had reportedly made describing Ama Sey as a hairdresser, insinuating that she was undeserving of the office of Member of Parliament. However, the constituents thought otherwise and elected Ama Sey decisively.
Following his defeat in Akwatia, Baba Jamal switched territory to the Ayawaso East Constituency in the Greater Accra Region. He ran unsuccessfully in the internal primary against Nasser Toure of the NDC, now deceased, who had held the seat since 2012.
The Ayawaso East parliamentary seat became vacant following the death of sitting NDC Member of Parliament Mahama Naser Toure on January 4, 2026, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness. This necessitated the party’s primary to elect a candidate to contest on the ticket of the NDC for the by-election scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
In the February 7, 2026 primary, Baba Jamal won with 431 votes, defeating his closest challenger Hajia Amina Adam, widow of the immediate past Member of Parliament, who polled 399 votes. The other three candidates polled a combined 134 votes from a total of 964 valid votes cast.
However, viral videos of supposed voter inducement in the constituency pointed fingers at Mr. Jamal, who at the time served as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria. Reports suggest that his campaign team distributed 32 inch television sets and boiled eggs to delegates during the primary.
President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday, February 7, 2026, ordered the immediate recall of Baba Jamal from his position as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, citing the need to protect the integrity of public office. The President noted that while allegations of vote buying were made against multiple candidates who contested the primaries, Baba Jamal was the only serving public officer among them.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) launched investigations on Sunday, February 8, 2026, into alleged vote buying during the NDC primary in Ayawaso East. The anti graft agency also disclosed that it has opened a separate inquiry into an alleged assault of one of its officers who was deployed during the primary.
According to the OSP, during the conduct of the NDC parliamentary primaries at the Ayawaso East constituency on February 7, 2026, Baba Jamal allegedly incited thugs to physically attack an officer of the OSP who was serving an investigative directive on him in relation to vote buying and vote selling.
A Global InfoAnalytics poll conducted before the primary had predicted that Hajia Amina would win with 58 percent of votes. However, the actual results showed Mohammed Ramne securing nine percent, Hajia Amina getting 41 percent, and Baba Jamal polling 45 percent, significantly outperforming the predictions.
The NDC has condemned the alleged acts of inducement, describing them as a direct affront to the party’s core principles. The party’s General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, stated that the party is immediately instituting a full scale investigation into this matter and will take swift action against any candidate found culpable.
The Majority Caucus in Parliament has called for the immediate annulment of the primary and the disqualification of any candidate found engaging in vote buying. The caucus further demanded that any candidate found culpable be barred from contesting in any rerun of the primary.
Baba Jamal reaffirmed his commitment to the NDC and to the development of the Ayawaso East Constituency, stating that he remains driven by the collective desire to improve the lives of residents and secure better representation in Parliament. He expressed gratitude to President Mahama for the opportunity to serve as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria.
The investigative committee is expected to submit its report and recommendations to the party’s leadership, which will determine the next steps including whether the primary results will stand or be annulled. The March 3, 2026 by-election will determine who succeeds the late Naser Toure Mahama in representing Ayawaso East, a constituency long considered a stronghold of the NDC.
Whatever the outcome of the investigations, Baba Jamal’s political career once again sits at the centre of national debate, mirroring broader tensions within Ghana’s democratic practice regarding vote buying, internal party discipline, and the integrity of internal elections.
