Politics of Thursday, 10 January 2019
Source: citinewsroom.com
2019-01-10
Peter Boamah Otokunor, Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress
Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Peter Boamah Otokunor, has cast doubt over the credibility of a recent research conducted by the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana.
The research, which sampled about 5,000 Ghanaians nationwide indicated among other things that President Nana Akufo-Addo will defeat former President John Dramani Mahama hands down if elections were held today.
The report said President Akufo-Addo would have led the poll with 49.3% with John Mahama trailing behind with 33.3%.
However Mr. Otokunor on Eyewitness News said the findings might not be entirely sacrosanct, given that the research was conducted by members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
In Ghana, it is always the case that parties in opposition or government never accept results of polls on electoral fortunes as long as it doesn’t favour them.
“Our search has indicated that this is not a report that can be owned by the department but perhaps some individuals who work in the political science department. Infact, all the leaders of the research , we know them very well and we know their political leanings.
“We know they belong to the NPP. You know Dr. Bossman was leading the research last year and in no time we saw that he got some favour from the government.”
We’ll not depend on polls – Yaw Buabeng
The Communications Director for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buabeng Asamoah said though the NPP welcomes the report, it will not “rely on the research findings going into the election.”
He also emphasized the need to “welcome efficient polls in our political landscape”.
Double track, galamsey fight most disliked gov’t policies – Report
The research touched on some areas including economy, education, campaign promises, government policies and programmes among others.
The researchers found out that one of government’s most fiercely pushed policies; the double track Senior High School education system, has turned out to be its most disliked policy among the electorate.
At the same time, one popularly supported policy; the fight against galamsey, is now the second most disliked of government’s policies.
The findings also showed that the voters dislike the government’s drones for the health program, while a significant number expressed disappointment at the government’s job creation efforts.
