Dr. Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, a fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has issued a stark warning to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to reassess its strategy or risk becoming irrelevant by 2028.
This call to action follows the release of the latest Global Info Analytics National Tracking Poll, which paints a vivid picture of a rapidly changing political landscape in Ghana. The CDD- fellow outlined the following as his key findings after reading the report.
•Public Perception Shift: A significant 62% of voters now believe Ghana is on the right path, marking a substantial increase from just 32% in October 2024. This shift underscores a growing confidence in the current administration.
•President Mahama’s Approval Rating: With a 66% approval rating, President Mahama enjoys broad support across party lines, except for a dwindling core of opposition loyalists. This cross-party backing highlights the government’s success in building public trust.
•The Ashanti Region: An Outlier: Despite the overall positive trend, the Ashanti Region remains a notable exception. Here, a majority still believes Ghana is headed in the wrong direction. This regional divide poses a challenge for the government, which must address concerns of partisan resistance or regional neglect to maintain support.
The CDD Fellow however, emphasized that the NPP, once seen as a natural alternative, is experiencing a shocking decline in support.
“the NPP’s decline is shocking. Once seen as the natural alternative, the opposition is bleeding support. Its leadership ratings are falling, and it has failed to turn economic concerns into political gains.
Dr. Sarpong added “Inflation and unemployment still top voter concerns, yet the opposition is unable to translate this into momentum. If the NPP doesn’t wake up, it may find itself irrelevant by 2028”.
Dr. Asiedu Sarpong cautioned the NPP that ignoring these poll results, as they did before the last general elections, could lead to further erosion of support.
In a Facebook post he wrote “They have a choice to ignore this poll as they did before the last general elections and see their fortunes dwindle further or learn from the results of ridiculing previous polls and look at this data for answers”.
Dr. Sarpong stressed that public anger over environmental destruction remains high, urged government to take a critical look at it.
“The poll exposes one major vulnerability: galamsey (illegal mining). If the government ignores this, today’s high approval ratings could crash just as fast as they rose.”
He concluded by emphasizing that the polls conducted by Global Info Analysis focus on one major thing “Governing well pays off. Taking voters for granted does not. The ruling party must sustain reforms, and the opposition must find its voice or risk fading into history”.
Source: www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
