Two Political Scientists have commended President John Dramani Mahama for recalling Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed, following the allegations of vote-buying that rocked the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Ayawaso East parliamentary primary last Saturday.

They said the President’s decision to recall Baba Jamal also sends a strong signal of disapproval of the issue of vote-buying and demonstrates commitment to the Code of Conduct for Public Officers put in place as part of his administration’s effort to fight improper behaviour by appointees.

The Project Director, Democracy Project, Dr John Osae-Kwapong, and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Kwasi Amakye-Boateng, made the commendation in separate interviews with the Daily Graphic.

The two academics also praised the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for announcing investigations into the matter, saying these actions must be pursued to their logical conclusion if they violate any laws.

Logical conclusion

"The President's decision to recall  Baba Jamal must be strongly commended," Dr Osae-Kwapong said.

He also commended the OSP for commencing investigations into the matter.

"Again, this is another commendable act. These actions, if they violate any laws, must be pursued to their logical conclusion and the appropriate sanctions applied. This will serve, hopefully, as a deterrent to others," he said.

Dr Osae-Kwapong condemned the practice of vote-buying in the country's elections and described it as a symptom of the monetisation of democracy.

"The problem is whenever questions are raised about such practices, especially by civil society organisations and the media, candidates reject the description of them as 'incentives' but rather as 'gifts' or 'transportation.'

And because these practices have gone unpunished, there has been no incentive for candidates to stop," he said.

"Finally, we must begin to take serious and active steps to sanitise the monetisation of our politics.

A stronger legislative framework is undoubtedly needed to address this problem before it further erodes the integrity of our electoral process," he said.

Dr Amakye-Boateng, for his part, said the decisive action by the President was a bold step towards ensuring that public officers were held accountable.

He also commended the OSP for its swift move to investigate the alleged issue of vote-buying.

He said the issue of vote-buying and voter inducement continues to dent the country’s democratic credentials and it was high time it was addressed.