Civil society group OccupyGhana has renewed its call for the criminalisation of vote buying in internal party elections, following allegations of inducements during the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries to select a candidate for the Ayawaso East by-election scheduled for March 3, 2026.
The allegations relate to the February 7 NDC primary, in which Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed emerged as the party’s parliamentary candidate. He has been accused of engaging in vote buying, claims that reportedly led to his recall as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria by President John Dramani Mahama. Mr. Ahmed has, however, denied the allegations.
OccupyGhana says the growing “normalisation” of cash and gift exchanges for votes is eroding the foundations of Ghana’s democracy.
In a strongly worded petition dated February 9, 2026, the group urged the Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, and the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, among other key state actors, to urgently close what it describes as a dangerous legal gap that allows corruption in intra-party elections to go unpunished.
“The increasing normalisation of vote buying within internal party elections poses a grave and growing threat to democratic accountability, political integrity and equal participation. While national elections are governed by clear legal prohibitions against electoral corruption, the continued absence of explicit criminal sanctions for vote buying in intra-party contests has created a significant loophole that steadily undermines the credibility of our democratic system from within,” OccupyGhana said in its letter.
The petition follows an earlier appeal made on October 9, 2023, in which OccupyGhana first called for the practice to be outlawed.
The group argues that while Ghana’s national elections are governed by strict anti-corruption laws, the absence of explicit criminal sanctions for vote buying during party primaries has turned internal contests into what it describes as “mercenary” exercises, where financial muscle overrides merit, competence, and genuine representation.
A key feature of the proposal is the demand that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), rather than the Attorney-General, be given exclusive authority to investigate and prosecute electoral crimes arising from internal party processes.
“Because such offences are inherently political, assigning prosecutorial powers to an independent body is essential to ensure impartial enforcement and avoid conflicts of interest,” OccupyGhana said. The group cited several reasons for vesting responsibility in the OSP, including the classification of intra-party vote buying as corruption and an abuse of public trust, the OSP’s specialised expertise in tracing complex financial transactions, and the need for meaningful deterrence through prosecutions insulated from executive influence.
The petition stresses that internal party elections are not merely private organisational activities but the primary gateway through which candidates for public office are selected. When these processes are compromised by financial inducements, corruption is embedded at the earliest stage of political leadership.
“Intra-party elections are not peripheral political activities; they are decisive mechanisms through which candidates for public office are selected. When these processes are distorted by financial inducements and material incentives, merit, competence and genuine representation are displaced by monetary influence,” the letter stated.
OccupyGhana’s renewed advocacy comes amid heightened public concern over electoral integrity following recent high-profile primary election controversies. The group has called on the government to provide a clear timeline for initiating legislative reforms and policy measures to address the gap.
Copies of the petition were sent to key constitutional office holders, including the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, and the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng.
Click here to read the 2026 letter by OccupyGhana
Click here to read the 2023 letter by OccupyGhana
