The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has announced that a Private Member’s Bill seeking to amend Ghana’s criminal law to cover misconduct during by-elections and political party primaries is currently before the House.

The Speaker made the announcement on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, shortly after administering the oath of office to Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ayawaso East Constituency.

Mr Bagbin said the swearing-in of Mr Baba Jamal, who won the parliamentary by-election held on March 3, 2026, on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), had prompted renewed urgency for legislative reforms.

“Your winning this by-election has triggered urgent action in this House,” Mr Bagbin said while addressing the newly sworn-in legislator.

“We have in this House a proposed Private Members’ Bill which is meant to amend the Criminal and Other Offences Act to include conduct and acts during by-elections, and also primaries of political parties,” he added.

Proposed legal reforms

The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), to expand the scope of criminal liability for electoral misconduct beyond national public elections.

The initiative follows advocacy by the civil society organisation OccupyGhana, which submitted a draft Criminal Offences (Amendment) (Internal Political Party Elections) Bill, 2026 to the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, and the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, in a letter dated February 11, 2026.

The group has also been campaigning for reforms since October 2023.

Under the current legal framework, the statutory definition of public elections is linked to Article 49 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which excludes internal party elections such as primaries, congresses and leadership contests.

As a result, practices such as vote-buying, bribery and intimidation during party primaries do not currently attract specific criminal sanctions.

The draft bill proposes amendments to four existing laws: the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), the Representation of the People Act, 1992, the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 and the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019, with the aim of extending criminal sanctions to misconduct during internal party elections.

Speaker’s remarks

Addressing the new MP, Mr Bagbin said Mr Baba Jamal had acted within the existing legal framework despite public concerns surrounding the by-election campaign.

“I will congratulate you, because you followed what was the law, but we are now going to change that law and make sure that the sentiments and concerns that Ghanaians have raised become binding law on all of us,” he said.

Controversy before the by-election
Mr Baba Jamal’s return to Parliament followed controversy earlier this year.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor opened investigations in February 2026 over allegations that his campaign team distributed 32-inch television sets to delegates during the NDC primary contest for the Ayawaso East seat.

President John Dramani Mahama later ordered Mr Baba Jamal’s recall as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, citing the standards expected of public officers.

Mr Baba Jamal denied wrongdoing and maintained that the items were gifts rather than inducements. A disciplinary committee of the NDC later cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The by-election was necessitated by the death of the four-term MP for the constituency, Naser Toure Mahama, who died on January 4, 2026, at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness at the age of 60.

After administering the oath, the Speaker presented the new legislator with copies of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and the revised Standing Orders of Parliament, which came into force on January 2, 2024.

Mr Baba Jamal previously served as MP for the Akwatia Constituency from 2013 to 2017.