NDC Majority Caucus Calls For Cancellation of Ayawaso East Primary

The Majority Caucus in Parliament, made up of MPs from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had called on the Party’s Functional Executive Committee (FEC) to immediately cancel the results of the parliamentary primaries in the Ayawaso East constituency, following allegations of widespread vote buying and inducement.

A statement issued on the official letter head of the Majority Caucus and signed by the Majority Leader himself, Mahama Ayariga also called for the disqualification of any candidate who participated in the primary and is found to have engaged in vote-buying or other unethical conduct, barring such individuals from contesting in any subsequent primary organised after the annulment of the election results.

Meanwhile, Mahama Ayariga has taken to his X page to reveal that he has stepped aside from the Committee tasked by the NDC to probe the allegations of vote buying and voter inducement.

He noted on X: “In view of the position taken by the Caucus of the NDC in Parliament regarding cancellation of the Ayawaso East primary, it has become untenable for me to serve on the Investigation Committee set up by the National Executive of the NDC. I have therefore notified the party that a suitable replacement should be appointed.”

The Majority statement condemned the vote buying and inducements “against the background of the agenda to reset the politics of this country,” the statement said.
It continued: “The NDC Majority Caucus remains committed to restoring integrity to our politics,” the statement added.

In a related development, the MP for Tamale North, Alhasssan Suhuyini, has been vocal in condemning the developments that happened during the Ayawaso East primary.

Suhuyini wrote on Facebook:

“It is convenient to avoid responsibility by blaming those who demand it or how they demand it, but that still leaves one irresponsible.

“I think the election should have been annulled yesterday by the Party Leadership, before it ended, and a fresh election scheduled for Tuesday, funded by all contestants. Any candidate who failed to pay by the close of Monday could have been excluded from the new ballot. After all, judging by their conduct, they are well-resourced. This would have sent a signal to all future contestants that such actions in an NDC internal contest could prove costlier for those involved. Investigations could then have been conducted to determine individual culpability and impose sanctions.”