The Danquah Institute, Ghana’s leading centre for research and political analysis, has conducted a nationwide survey of voters’ intentions ahead of Ghana’s elections in December.

The poll asked prospective voters who they think will win out in the 2008 presidential elections, as well as who they would vote for in a runoff between the two leading candidates.

Of those who took part in the survey, 56% predicted a win for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer. This constituted a clear lead over the next most favoured candidate, with 33% predicting a win for the opposition NDC. The CPP were predicted to win by 4% of those polled, with the remainder mostly undecided.

Judging by these figures, the NPP candidate can expect to win the popular vote by a clear margin of almost one quarter of the electorate in the first round.

Respondents were also asked to name the candidate they would vote for in the event of a second round runoff between the NPP and NDC candidates. 57% told the survey team they would choose to vote for Akufo-Addo, confirming the general conclusion of the Danquah Institute’s researchers that the NPP candidate holds the upper hand going into the final month of the campaign.

Research teams traveled to all ten regions to achieve an accurate sample of 3,483 people. Respondents were asked for their views on what to expect when Ghana goes to the polls in a month’s time.

82% of those surveyed were voters under the age of 44, of whom 41% were in the key 22-32 age range. The proportionate representation from all ten regions and of each age group makes this the most accurate picture yet compiled of the nation’s voting intentions. The survey’s margin of error is just ?1.66% with a confidence level of 95%