Ghanaians prioritise candidate honesty in 2024 elections – Afrobarometer

Ahead of the December 7 general election, the latest Afrobarometer survey has revealed that honesty, character, and campaign promises stand out as top factors shaping voters’ choices.

Dr Edem Selormey, Director of Research, Centre for the Ghana Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) presenting the research findings in Accra noted that the survey showed that most Ghanaians prioritise a candidate’s honesty, followed by those who value the candidate’s character and their campaign promises.

The Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the CDD-Ghana, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,400 adult Ghanaians in August 2024. 

She said a sample of this size yielded country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level. 

She noted that previous surveys were conducted in Ghana in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022.

It said overall, Ghanaians continued to view elections as the best method for selecting their leaders.

Key findings of the survey revealed that candidate’s honesty (90 per cent of sample size), character (88 per cent), and campaign promises (59 per cent) were the three major factors that Ghanaians said would influence their choices in the December 2024 general elections.

It indicated that a majority (58 per cent) of Ghanaians said they would vote for presidential and parliamentary candidates from the same political party. 

It said only 15 per cent say they would vote for presidential and parliamentary candidates from different political parties, while six per cent say they would vote for independent presidential and parliamentary candidates.

The survey noted that more than eight in 10 Ghanaians (85 per cent) indicate they had little or no fear of falling victim to political intimidation or violence during campaigns in the last general election, while 14 per cent say they feared it “somewhat” or “a lot”.

According to the Afrobarometer survey, most Ghanaians (81 per cent) considered elections the best way to choose their leaders. 

It said support for elections had consistently exceeded 80 per cent for the past two decades.

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. 

Nine survey rounds in up to 42 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 10 was launched in January 2024. Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face to face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.

Source: GNA 

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