The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is more popular than its flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, an election survey released on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 has revealed.
On the contrary, his main contender, the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is more popular than his party.
According to the survey, 38.8% of the respondents like the NDC as a political party, but only 36.1% like the presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama.
Also, 38.9% of the respondents preferred Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the presidential candidate and 34.5% for the NPP.
However, the NDC leads in popularity with 38.8% as the political party respondents are likely to support in the coming election, as of April 2024.
The popularity of the NDC is higher than that of the NPP in Bono East, Greater Accra, Northern, Oti, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West and Volta regions.
The NPP and NDC are at par in terms of popularity in Western North region. But 23.1% of prospective supporters had not decided which party to support, as at April 2024.
ENGAGE
According to the poll, conducted by Prof. Smart Sarpong, Director of Research and Innovation at Kumasi Technical University, Western North region is yet to be fully engaged by political parties in Ghana.
Again, NDC leads in eight regions, namely Bono East, Greater Accra, Northern, Oti, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West and Volta regions. NPP leads in seven regions, namely Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Central, Eastern, North East and Western regions.
Other political parties and their candidates, the survey revealed, are not showing any good signs of impact in the coming elections.
FACTORS
The poll said competence, track record and party affiliation are the key deciding factors for candidates who may win the 2024 elections. These three factors alone constitute 91.9% of the deciding factors.
However, unemployment and improvement in the economy are the leading critical issues manifestos must seek to address head-on, the poll said.
Meanwhile, poor roads, water and power crises, illegal mining, LGBTQ rights, corruption, poor sanitation, etc., were also noted as critical concerns needing attention among Ghanaian voters.
DATA COLLECTION
The Researcher used 30 days to collect data for this baseline study, commencing April 1 to 30, 2024.
He said that many interesting inquiries were asked from respondents and will be published in subsequent publications on his social media handles, especially constituency-specific/ parliamentary-level reports.
In the press engagement yesterday, he shared the regional and national-level findings in respect of parties and their presidential candidates, as well as the people’s manifesto, where the critical needs of the people will be discussed.
SAMPLE SIZE
In all, the survey had 59,547 eligible voters from the 275 constituencies as the full sub-sample.
Each sub-sample represented a proportional share of the total contribution to the voter population in the 2020 voter register.
OBJECTIVE
The polls aimed to provide valuable insights for political stakeholders, guide strategic campaigning efforts, and contribute to a more informed and data-driven political discourse in Ghana.
The survey was to give voters the opportunity to express their views to an independent researcher and learn from the views of other voters to digest when making their decision.
Prof. Smart Sarpong said the findings of election research are favourable. They can boost the energy of political actors and encourage campaign teams to continue their efforts.
He added that candidates and other key players will always need independent research to guide their operations.
