All aspirants should be banned – Martin Kpebu on Ayawaso East vote-buying allegations

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has called for the exclusion of all aspirants accused of vote-buying during the February 7 NDC parliamentary primaries in Ayawaso East from any rerun in the constituency if the current results are nullified.

According to him, any action apart from a complete disqualification, risks rewarding misconduct and undermining party and public confidence in the electoral process.

In an interview on TV3 on Tuesday, Martin Kpebu argued that the issue, fueled by videos in circulation, should trigger a “decisive internal sanction” that clears the way for a new contest with “fresh” contenders.

“I’m hoping that all the persons involved, all of them, would be banned. Yes, so that we have a fresh set of candidates,” he said. “Although we are yet to see the committee’s report but so far from the videos circulating you can see that this attempting to bribe voters etc. was widespread, it wasn’t only Baba Jamal, to be fair he wasn’t the only one involved in it.”

Kpebu praised what he described as the NDC’s willingness to confront the situation publicly, calling it a potential new standard for political accountability.

“It’s very commendable that the Majority Caucus came out to say no, their results be annulled and that’s commendable…it’s very exciting to see that the NDC wants to set a good example for other parties to follow,” he noted, adding that a complete ban will be the most credible way to restore integrity.

He further argued that punishing only some selected aspirants could deepen perceptions of bias, while a total disqualification of all those found culpable will send a clearer message and allow the constituency to “reset.”

Kpebu explained that the credibility of the party’s response will depend on the findings and recommendations of the internal committee set up to investigate the allegations, and whether sanctions are applied to all individuals found to have engaged in voter inducements.

“I’ll be happy if the committee’s report comes out to ban all of those who are involved so that we have fresh candidates,” he said.

Following a statement issued by the Majority Caucus on Sunday, February 8, calling for the immediate cancellation of the primary election that produced Baba Jamal as winner amid allegations of vote-buying, the NDC has since launched an investigation into the matter with the probing committee set to submit its findings and recommendations today, February 10.