A study has revealed high interest in the 2024 general election, with 87 per cent expected turnout, surpassing the 78.89 per cent in the 2020 polls. With the two major political parties – the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – crisscrossing the country and battling for votes, such high turnout is expected to have considerable impact on the fortunes of the two parties, especially if they are able to galvanise their base and also attract floating voters.
The study further revealed that both the NPP and the NDC were at par in the presidential race, with 46.3 per cent of the voters’ surveyed saying they would vote for the NPP, with the same percentage sticking with the NDC.
Former President John Dramani Mahama, the flag bearer of the NDC, was seen as “currently more visible in the constituencies, but the study identified that NPP’s Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia is popular among the Christian voter population, while the NDC’s Mahama is popular among Muslim voters, including the Zongos.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers commissioned from the University of Ghana led by their former colleague, Dr Isaac Owusu. It sampled the views of 28,935 registered voters from all the 276 constituencies, between August 1 to August 23, this year.
However, the findings showed that 4.4 per cent of the electorate were likely to vote for other political parties and independent candidates, a situation that could push the elections to a run-off, the study found out.
“A considerable three per cent are yet to decide their preference. The smaller parties and independent candidates shared 4.4 per cent of the votes. This means the smaller parties have the capacity to push the elections to a run-off. Neither the NDC nor NPP can win the entire undecided component of electorate,” the study pointed out.
Again, the study concluded that Nana Kwame Bediako, the leader of the New Force Movement, is expected to perform considerably well due to his popularity among the youthful voters, while the flag bearer of the Movement for Change, Alan Kyeremateng, and the other political parties were also working hard to become part of the voting decision of the electorate.