Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, Mussa Dankwah, says recent polling data from the Kpandai Constituency suggests that while voter sentiments largely favour the ruling National Democratic Congress, the parliamentary contest remains too close to call.
This comes ahead of the December 30 Kpandai parliamentary election rerun following the November 24 High Court ruling ordering a new election within 30 days of declaring the Kpandai seat vacant.
Former Kpandai Member of Parliament, Matthew Nyindam, has contested the ruling, asserting that the 2024 parliamentary election was conducted fairly and has vowed to participate in the rerun despite ongoing legal challenges.
The Electoral Commission received formal confirmation from the Clerk of Parliament on December 8, officially declaring the Kpandai seat vacant and setting the stage for the December 30 rerun.
Speaking on the findings of the poll on the Channel One Newsroom on Saturday, December 13, Mr. Dankwah noted that a majority of respondents believe the country is heading in the right direction, an indicator that generally works in favour of the incumbent government.
“The sentiments in Kpandai overall appear to favour the ruling NDC government in the sense that you have a majority of voters saying that the country is heading in the right direction,” he said.
According to the poll results, 66 percent of respondents said Ghana is moving in the right direction, while 26 percent believe the country is on the wrong path. Eight percent said they had no opinion.
On the performance of the President, Mr. Dankwah revealed that approval ratings were similarly strong, with 64 percent of respondents approving of the President’s performance. Twenty-seven percent disapproved, while nine percent expressed no opinion.
The survey also assessed respondents’ views on their personal economic conditions. Mr. Dankwah said 54 percent of voters indicated that their economic situation had improved, 34 percent said it had remained unchanged, and 11 percent said it had worsened. One percent had no opinion.
“So broadly, this is a sentiment that should really carry the NDC candidate across the finish line quite easily,” he explained.
However, he cautioned that despite these positive indicators for the governing party, the parliamentary race in Kpandai remains highly competitive.
“What we’ve seen in the poll when it comes to the parliamentary election is that it is too close to call. The margin is just within the margin of error,” Mr. Dankwah said.
He added that the tight margins mean the outcome of the parliamentary contest cannot yet be predicted with certainty, stressing the need to wait for the final round of polling to determine the likely direction of the race.
“For that reason, we have to wait for the final poll to see which direction the election will go,” he concluded.
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