The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, has disclosed that although the committee established to look into alleged vote-buying and inappropriate conduct in the Ayawaso East parliamentary primary recommended the nullification of the election, constitutional and time constraints made it impossible to overturn the results.
He noted that the committee established incidences of vote-buying and inappropriate conduct and recommended a nullification which he said the party believed was the best decision.
Speaking on the controversy surrounding the Ayawaso East primary on TV3’s Hot Issues, Mr. Kwetey described the incident as a “golden opportunity” for the party to initiate reforms to address vote-buying challenges once and for all.
According to him, the party leadership acted swiftly by setting up a committee to investigate the matter after concerns were raised about misconduct during the primaries.
“We found out clearly that there were very inappropriate conduct on the part of virtually everybody,” he stated.
However, he explained that the party was constrained by time and constitutional requirements. The primaries were held on a Saturday, while the party needed to present its candidate by Wednesday. The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) was scheduled to meet on Tuesday, leaving little room for effective corrective action.
“The committee recommended nullification of the Ayawaso East Primary and we agreed that was the best decision and should have been, but clearly it was difficult to do that. The time was too short to be able to bring in another candidate,” he said.
Mr. Kwetey emphasized that the issue was an internal party matter and not within the jurisdiction of the Electoral Commission (EC), thus EC could not have nullified the election.
“This is our party primary. It does not belong to the Electoral Commission. What decision we are taking has to do with how to sanitise our party — that’s not the business of the Electoral Commission,” he argued.
He further noted that the even if the election was nullified, the EC would not have adjusted its electoral timetable to accommodate the party, potentially leaving the NDC without a candidate in the constituency.
“If you tell the Electoral Commission to nullify our election, how are they going to ensure that we get another candidate? They were not going to change their timetable because of us, so we end in a situation where we have no candidate — and clearly this is our seat, we are not going to allow the NPP to take our seat,” he stressed.
The Ayawaso East primary has generated debate within political circles, with concerns raised about alleged vote-buying and the need for stronger internal controls.
The NDC leadership said it remains committed to strengthening internal processes while protecting its electoral prospects.
