*But Endorse Mills For 2012*
Greater Accra, the region considered by political analysts as the decider of which party rules this country, has rejected the media-hyped New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Akuffo Addo, in the latest opinion poll results by market researchers, Synovate.
The poll (see page 4), which was conducted last September, revealed that Nana Addo’s “Listening Campaign” is not having any significant impact on the voters in the Greater Accra Region as President John Mills leads by 46 percent to 37 percent.
Greater Accra voters are held by political pundits as the most discerning electorates compared to voters in other parts of the country where the choice of who becomes president is based more on ethnicity rather that reasoning, policy, character and other deliverables, hence any party that wins cosmopolitan Accra, rules the country.
Synovate claims that the overall poll results throughout the country, puts Nana Akufo-Addo at 48 percent of total votes cast with President Mills trailing him with 41 percent.
This it shows that none of the two leading candidates will emerge a winner until, a runoff.
But the release of the poll results which points to a runoff, barely a week after claims by ex-President Rawlings that Nana Addo is ahead of President Mills in terms of the popularity test, suggest to many that the poll was hurriedly cooked and released to the media for NPP propaganda purposes than for anything of value truly representative of the views of the electorates.
For instance, a detailed look at the poll by The Herald, reveal that the researchers, simply sought to know from the 1,723 registered voters, “if elections were held today in Ghana who would you vote for?” Synovate researchers did not ask the respondents about the reason behind choice of the party they would vote for if elections were held today.
From the political parties, the poll has been met with mixed reaction with Deputy Minister for Environment Science and Technology, Dr. Omane Boamah, saying that the poll lacked credibility and urged politicians and well meaning Ghanaians to treat it with utmost contempt.
He told Joy FM’s Dzifa Bampoh that the poll as part of the NPP machinations was to torpedo the ‘Better Ghana’ Agenda by President John Mills.
“I am quite surprised that at this stage, that Synovate, knowing what they stand for in terms of their political angling, will still be placing Nana Addo below 50 per cent.
“President Mills is the president. He keeps on delivering on the ‘Better Ghana’ Agenda. It is very clear that Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP and their affiliates and cohorts want his job. They will do everything possible to seek his job. In doing so all kind of machinations and maneuverings will be used.”
Citing poll results in the run up to the 2008 elections, Dr. Boamah said: “These are people who have always tried to use polls and such machinations to impress upon the people that their campaign is doing very well.”
Asked if government was ignoring the latest poll results, Boamah retorted; “it is very clear that Synovate does not have the kind of expertise in this,” adding, “the credibility of Synovate is in doubt and I will not ask any politician or any right thinking Ghanaian to even spare a thought in terms of analyzing the results of the poll.”
The NPP’s head of Communications, Nana Akomea in his opinion said “the poll result is a good encouragement to us. It shows us that what we are doing is reflecting positively on the ground.”
“It shows us that Nana Addo’s listening campaign is having some significant effects,” he added.
He said the poll confirms the suspicions by the NPP research team and rather exposes the nothingness in President Mills’ declaration of 2011 as a year of action.
He said the NPP will take aspects of the poll which saw Nana Addo tumbling in Greater Accra and work on that. The office of Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom welcomed the poll, albeit with caution, especially when the CPP has not elected a flagbearer for the CPP.
“We in Dr. Nduom’s office are happy to learn that even at this stage that Dr Nduom had not been made an official candidate of the CPP, you have five per cent of the electorates calling on him by voting in the poll that they will vote for Dr. Nduom if elections were held today,” Kofi Asamoah said.
He explained that if in the future Nduom clinches the CPP slot to lead the party, the signal is already clear that with hard work and good publicity the tables will turn in favour of the CPP.
Dr. Nduom has declared his intent to run for the flagbearership race when the CPP opens its nominations.
The PNC’s Bernard Mornah described the poll as “ugly” and “dirty,” accusing the conductors of trying to impose Dr. Edward Mahama on the Party at a time when the party had not elected a flag bearer.
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, secured five percent of votes cast with the PNC’s veteran presidential candidate Dr. Edward Mahama obtaining a paltry one percent. Two per cent of the respondents preferred not to disclose who they would vote for if elections were held today while some three per cent either chose not to answer or said they did not know who they would vote for.
