More than four in 10 Ghanaians aren’t taking sides yet in a presidential race, outnumbering declared supporters of the ruling party as well as its challengers, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows.
When asked in September-October how they would vote if a presidential election were held “tomorrow,” more Ghanaians said they would not vote or didn’t know or wouldn’t say how they would vote than declared for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) or the National Democratic Party (NDC).
The proportion of adult citizens who said they would not vote is the highest since 2008 and has increased by 6 percentage point between 2017 and 2019.
Among respondents who declared a preference, the NPP maintained a lead over the NDC, though its lead has shrunk by 15 points compared to survey responses in 2017. And without a clear understanding of undeclared voters, it is impossible to draw solid conclusions about a likely election outcome.
These findings suggest that a large chunk of the electorate is still waiting to be convinced, during the year remaining before Ghana’s 2020 presidential election, to vote for a specific candidate – or even to vote at all.