Public trust in Ghanaian institutions have declined– Afrobarometer report

The latest Afrobarometer report by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) has unveiled a historic decline in public trust in Ghanaian institutions, revealing citizens' deep concerns regarding the integrity of state entities, particularly the Electoral Commission's capacity to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections.

Launched on Friday, 25 October 2024, by CDD Ghana’s Director of Research, Dr. Edem Selormey, the comprehensive report highlights a significant drop in citizens' confidence across various democratic institutions since 2012, a trend that persists despite changes in government.

“Trust in key state institutions and officials has shown only marginal declines since 2022 but reflects a major drop from 2012 levels,” Dr. Selormey noted.

The report indicates a troubling erosion of public trust in critical institutions, including the judiciary, tax authorities, the presidency, and Parliament, with heightened skepticism towards officials perceived as corrupt.

“Three-fourths (74%) of Ghanaians say corruption levels increased ‘somewhat’ or ‘a lot’ over the past year,” Dr. Selormey highlighted, acknowledging a slight improvement of 3% compared to last year's figures.

Furthermore, the findings reveal that only 26% of Ghanaians feel they can report corruption without fear of retaliation, marking a 4% decline from 2022 and illustrating an environment where citizens are hesitant to challenge misconduct. Police, the presidency, tax officials, Members of Parliament, judges, and magistrates were identified as the most corrupt officials.

Despite these concerns, Afrobarometer data shows that 60% of citizens consider the 2020 general election to be “completely free and fair” or “free and fair with minor problems,” indicating some level of confidence in electoral integrity.