Polls on Ghanaian Dec. 28 run-off election

Following a peaceful conduct of the general elections in Ghana, we researchers of AB-CHANNEL GROUP have decided to draw a poll on how Ghanaians will vote in the runoff. Upon creating our base sample of 1500 registered voters from all the 10 regions of Ghana, we concluded that the December 28 runoff would be determined by the following.

1. The Economy.

2. Unemployment.

3.Corruption

4. Perception that Ghana is a drug destination

5.Education.

6.Rule of Law and human Rights.

7. Petrol price

The issues above, according to the1500 Ghanaians interviewed on land lines, mean a lot to them and have occupied their attention over the past 9 years. They have managed to prioritize them into 4 major cartigories.

1. Price of petrol.

When asked what would most influece their decision in the Dec. 28 runoff, 53% of interviewees believe that if there can be a further reduction in the price of petrol it would be evident in their decision to vote for the next president.

2. The economy

To the question on the state of the Ghanaian economy, 23% of the group supported the views expressed by the earlier one, and further stated that for as long as the price of goods and services remain where they are, culminating in more suffering, they would be swayed by a candidate that can assure them an affordable market. They cited the price of cement, fuel, cost of transportation, food and rent, among others unaffordable in their current circumstance. This group is mainly made up of small business operators, traders, drivers, farmers, fishermen, retirees and students.

3. Rule of Law and Human rights.

A minority of 14% of the group sample said they will vote according to records of rule of law and human rights left behind by governments of either of both candidates.

4. Ghana as a destination for drugs.

The number sadly dropped to 10% when the issue of drugs came up. The interviewees were very much disturbed by the negative image of the country as a hub for nacotic drugs. The group said that it will be their focus in the presidential elections.

DETAILS

PETROL

Though the NPP goverment has hurriedly rushed to slash the price of petrol by 17.7%, the 53% of the group feels cheated by government for far too long. They say they do not believe government would maintain the price when they are voted back into office. They argue that if government, indeed, has their interest at heart the drop of local cost of petrol to the magnitude announced on Friday would have been done since October when OPEC countries consistently began to reduce their world market prices. The group contended that if the NDC could promise and deliver on another drastic reduction in oil price they would consider it a better choice. Their reason is that if they vote for the NDC and it delivers on its promise to reduce oil price further, they would have succeeded in using their single votes to secure two bargains for the reduction in petrol prices. Critical among this group of people are drivers or transport owners, fishermen, farmers and youngmen who can not afford to fill their tanks. However, this group was not happy about governments rush to reduce the price of petrol. They said that NPP would have made it anyway without necessarily reducing the price of the life blood of the country. They compared government's action to a kid in a toy shop. Some of them could not recount how much loses they have made during those difficult times, though, according to them, all is not over yet. Asked whether any of them recieved money or any inducement to enable them vote for a particular party, 45% of the group answered in the afirmative, but added that it did not influence their decision.

DEduction> Though high fuel cost remains the most dominant factor in voters minds, reduction in its price would not sway voters to the NPP.

The economy

In our attempt to find out how the current state of the Ghanaian economy would drive their decision to participate in the December 28 run-off., 23% of our sample size showed up. This percentage is also swallowed by the 53% of our sample size who opted for petrol as their reason for voting. They claim fuel is the bedrock of all economic activities in the country and therefore if the price of the product is reduced, it would be a fresh breath in to the economy. They say the high cost of petrol has given them too many bullets to bite. Students among this group recounted how many times they had to make painful choices to walk to their destinations for lack of transport fee, not even enough to go by the so-called Kuffuor bus. One said he had to walk a distance of 8 kilometers to a job interview just to be told that he was not welcomed because his body ordor had overtaken the airconditioned office. This group cited the collapse of many local and foriegn industries due to high fuel prices. To them the NPP would not be forgiven for leaving them impoverished while there were avenues like the recent reduction in energy cost. They concluded that though it would take some sometime for this sharp drop in oil price to jumpstart the economy they would reflect on the damage so far done to them and their families and vote accordingly.

DEDUCTION>

This group of voters want to count their loses as a result of high fuel prices before they enter the voting booth.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND RULE OF LAW

The issue of rule of law and human rights may not have registered on the minds of a many voters during the recent election, but 13% of our sample group claim it would be important to them as they decide on thier choice of candidate during Decenber 28 run-off. This group is not happy about the level at which discrimination dominates the Ghanaian judicial system. It finds it difficult to divorce the executive arm of government from the judiciary. It cited examples of some six foreigners who were arrested and jailed for their involvement in nacotics, but were intervened by various governments of their countries, among others. The recent case of the 2 young British girls who were involved in nacotics but were allowed to go home to serve thier sentences was also fresh on their minds. This group explained that though they have issues with the NDC regarding Human rights and rule of law, it appears time has swept their records under the carpet. They believe they would vote according to what registers freshly on their minds when considering who can best handle human rights issues.

DEDUCTIONS> Voters in this cartigory may vote on the issue of rule of and human rights depending on how much they can recollect of the past and present.

Ghana as a preferred distination for drugs.

Our research on this group reveals that 10% of Ghanaians are deeply concerned about Ghana being used as a preferred destination for drugs. This group, in our sample, is of the opinion that the prevalence of drugs in Ghana especially under the full glare of the NPP government would shape their decision on how to vote come December 28. This group interestingly hail from the larger cities of the country, a suggestion that it does not in anyway concern the rural voter. They claim the image it portays of the Ghanaian abroad is what they are concerned about. When it came to this, examples were supperflous. One that would not escape mention was an example of a traditional ruler who was allegedly dehumanized at an international airport on suspicion of carrying drugs. This group says the practice has become too rampant over the past 8 years and that would direct them to whom they consider better qualified to nip it in the bud.

DEDUCTION> It could be anyones guess.

On curruption almost every one in the group agreed it is a factor, but advocated that until the laws are made to bite, it will remain the greatest cancer that could destroy the economy to a large extent. They all agreed that each one of them has been a witness or a victim to curruption either directly or indirectly. The security agencies, especially the police and custom officials did not escape examples mentioned by some members of the group. AT this point they conceeded that something can be done about it and would therefore vote for a candidate who can do something effectively about it.

ON who they think would win the December run-off based on the issues raised with the sample group of 1500 from all ten regions of Ghana, 51.1 per cent of them decided to vote for the NDC and the rest of the 48.9 per cent for the NPP.

This poll was conducted four days after results of the December 7 elections were officially declared by the Electoral Commission.