Economy, good governance to decide 2020 polls - iPoll Survey

The performance of the Ghanaian economy, job creation and voters’ perception about which of the two main leading political parties offers good governance will decide the 2020 polls, the latest iPoll survey has revealed.

Education and corruption, which were key issues in the previous general election, were ranked low by respondents as key issues that can influence their decision in the up-coming elections.

Health was surprisingly the least mentioned factor, considering that we are in the midst of a global pandemic that has killed nearly three hundred Ghanaians and caused the government to promise new hospitals across the country.

These sentiments were very strong amongst both public and private sector employees, and students surveyed.

For this poll, 892 people from across the country participated and formed a fairly representative picture of the national view. The poll took place between August 2-28, 2020.

On the performance of the current government, majority of respondents to the poll felt that government had been unable to fulfil its promises made during the 2016 elections that brought it into office.

This view was more strongly felt among respondents with graduate and post-graduate education.

Similarly, respondents felt that the general state of affairs and their own personal circumstances had not improved since this government took over in 2017.

However, students were an exception who held the view that their personal circumstances had improved over the period.

In the parliamentary elections, majority of respondents said they make the choices in the parliamentary elections based on local issues. This, we believe, could see more split votes, known in local parlance as “skirt and blouse”.

The enthusiasm for the electoral process, based on the survey, remains remarkably high. From our respondents, a marginally higher percentage of people are sure of voting this year than did in the last elections in 2016.

This eagerness was strong amongst graduate and postgraduate respondents.

For those who are not yet committed, a greater percentage say they would be moved to do so if government initiated some new policies. This suggests that the apathy is coming from supporters of the government who are still waiting to be convinced and might sit out the election if they are not.