Richard Ahiagbah is the Director of Communications for the NPP
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The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said that the vote buying incident that characterised the Ayawaso East NDC parliamentary election was shameful.

He said the NDC should bow their heads in shame due to this act.

“The NDC should bow their heads in shame due to what we witnessed in Ayawaso East primary. Why didn’t the Party annul the results in the best interest of democracy?” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday February 14.

Also speaking on the same show, Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu said that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) missed an opportunity to conduct itself differently by failing to annul the Ayawaso East parliamentary primary.

He made the point that the primary should have been annulled, and all the persons caught in the vote buying allegation should be banned from contesting.

He said that the seat will be tainted if the NDC wins it in the by-election.

“NDC lost a fine opportunity to seize the moment. They should have annulled the result and reorganised the polls. The NDC should have granted the majority’s quest to annul the elections, ban all those involved and bring in a new one.

“That seat is a tainted seat; if NDC wins it, it is tainted, it is not worth it,” he said.

He was contributing to a discussion on the vote-buying that characterised the Ayawaso East parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the by-election.

The NDC constituted a three-member committee to investigate allegations of widespread inducement and vote-buying.

In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, on Saturday, February 7, the party said the committee had until Tuesday, February 10, 2026, to submit its findings.

“In line with the Party’s commitment to internal democracy, transparency and ethical political conduct, the Committee will investigate the allegations and make appropriate recommendations, including sanctions where necessary,” the statement said.

The party, however, cleared the eventual winner Baba Jamal, who was lagged to have bought votes.

Fifi Kwetey announced on Tuesday that time constraints were a critical factor, as the party must submit a candidate before the Electoral Commission’s nomination deadline on Wednesday, February 11.