Smooth start, big expectations: Jamal camp bullish on Ayawaso East by-election

The campaign manager for Baba Jamal says voting is progressing smoothly in the Ayawaso East by-election and expressed confidence that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will retain the seat with an even bigger margin.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (3 March), Alhaji Nuhu Khalid described the atmosphere across the Ayawaso East Constituency as calm, with steady voter participation.

“Voting has started and the process is going on very smoothly. We are expecting to see more turnout than usual,” he said.

Khalid attributed the expected turnout to weeks of community engagement and voter sensitisation efforts aimed at reminding residents of their civic duty.

“We made a lot of engagements. We met the imams, chiefs, pastors and all the stakeholders in the community to drum home the need for everybody to come out and vote,” he explained. “We believe the message has gone down well.”

The NDC has historically dominated the constituency, and Khalid argued that the party’s electoral track record gives it a clear advantage. He noted that the party won the last parliamentary race in the area by more than 12,000 votes.

“For us, this is a stronghold. The last election, we won by over a 12,000 margin. Our opponent has a big task to close that gap,” he said.

His comments come after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Baba Ali Yussif expressed optimism about pulling off an upset earlier on the same programme.

But Khalid dismissed those claims, insisting the NDC’s candidate remains “tried and tested” and widely accepted by voters.

“We have a very strong and marketable candidate. Clearly, we know we are winning,” he said, adding that internal assessments and opinion surveys suggest Jamal could even extend the party’s lead.

The campaign manager also pointed to the involvement of senior party figures in the final days of campaigning, including Johnson Asiedu Nketia and other national executives, who he said spent time on the ground mobilising support.

“Top party leaders have been in the constituency, engaging the people and contributing to the campaign. We are very optimistic of winning, and the gap will be even wider than before,” he said.

Results from the by-election are expected later in the day, with both major parties viewing the contest as a key indicator of grassroots strength ahead of future national polls.