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Fifty-one percent of Ghanaians plan to vote based on infrastructure development and political party promises in the December 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.
This was revealed in the latest survey report from the Center for Democratic Development (CDD).
Talking to Citi News On the implications of these findings, CDD Director of Research Dr. Kojo Asante said they had observed a shift in the determinants of voting from a similar report in 2016, where unemployment topped the table and infrastructure ranked fifth. .
In a recent survey released on International Youth Day, unemployment and education were the most pressing issues for young people in Ghana.
But according to this survey, the Youth Day survey asked adults of all ages to cite the most important issues they want the government to address, and infrastructure and roads were the priorities most frequently cited by the 59 percent of those surveyed, followed by unemployment at 39 percent and education at 38 percent.
Before the polls, there have been numerous communities that have proven to demand better roads.
Some communities have even threatened to boycott the polls if their road infrastructure does not improve.
“What it does indicate is that even our development challenges remain very vast despite all the investment we have made and therefore we need to better understand how progressive we are improving infrastructure for people,” said Dr. Asante .
Meanwhile, 71 percent of Ghanaians have expressed their confidence in the country’s various security agencies to ensure a peaceful general election.
However, there is some apprehension about the presence of armed guards, according to Dr. Asante.
“In 2016, it was very clear that we did not want armed security at the polling station, but it reflects some concern about the prospect of violence on Election Day.”
“It’s an opportunity for us to look at it very carefully and see what is the best way to ensure safety and make sure people feel safe at the voting station, but also make sure that by solving the hat problem, we don’t we create an opportunity for problems to occur, ”he added.
Other Election-Related Findings
- The public expresses broad confidence in the integrity and competence of the EC and its ability to conduct a free and fair 2020 election.
- They consider the level of preparation of the EC to be adequate, together with other state and non-state agencies related to elections (in particular, the army and the police). Most importantly, they express broad confidence in the ability of the EC and partner agencies to deliver a credible 2020 Election.
- Levels of trust in the EC and other non-party state and non-state bodies directly and indirectly involved in holding peaceful elections with credible results are generally high, especially for the military, police and media.
- However, there is considerable apprehension of violence on the part of party supporters and candidates. They remain concerned about the activities of party guards, underscored by the desire of 8 in 10 respondents in our survey to have armed security personnel present at polling stations.
- Serious concerns remain about the integrity of the vote count and the results transmission process. A large minority, more than 4 in 10, express concern over the announcement of the incorrect vote count, and about a third do not trust their vote to be counted (concerns that are much higher than in 2016). This is probably the reason why a large majority of respondents want to see independent national and international observers present at the polls.
— citinewsroom
