Mr Mussa Dankwah, Executive Director and Head of Global Research at Global Info Analytics, has shown that 20% of voters who backed Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2020 presidential election switched their support to John Mahama in the 2024 elections.
Speaking on Joy News’ AM Show, Mr Dankwah explained that study findings revealed a dramatic shift in voter preferences, with a sizable number of Akufo-Addo 2020 backers now supporting Mahama.
Mr Mussa Dankwah revealed that interviews were done right after voters cast their ballots. “We asked voters who they had supported in the previous election and carried out a triangulation to identify the percentage that voted for Nana Akufo-Addo in 2020 and that of the December 7 presidential elections,” according to him. “We found that a considerable number of these voters had switched their votes,” according to him.
This revelation has attracted widespread attention and debate among political observers, many of whom are keen to understand the causes for such a drastic shift in voter preferences.
Mr Dankwah went on to explain the situation in the Eastern Region, stating that while the NPP had primarily focused on the Ashanti Region, the outcome in the Eastern Region surprised them. “The Eastern Region was a shocker,” he said. “When we looked at what happened there, it was clear that more people were voting for Mahama than for Nana Akufo-Addo.”
He went on to emphasize that the move was more than just an issue of voter turnout, but also a fundamental shift in preferences. “It’s not that people didn’t show up; they did. However, their votes appeared unsure about where they should go,” he remarked.
Mr Dankwah regretted that the economy, unemployment, and education had all had a significant impact on the shift in voter mood. He attacked the NPP’s campaign for focusing mostly on education without offering enough facts to back up their promises.
“The numbers were not there for education, but they were there for jobs and the economy,” he told me. This gap enabled Mahama to capitalise on these issues and appeal to people who were unsatisfied with the prevailing economic scenario.
The findings indicate a significant change in Ghana’s politics. The NPP hoped to retain voters’ support beyond the 2020 election, but changes in what people care about and unmet expectations, particularly concerning the economy, have driven many voters to switch their support to Mahama, he concluded.
Mussa Dankwah’s Global Research at Global Info Analytics accurately predicted the election outcome, earning considerable praise from political experts.
