Institutions critical to Ghana’s elections have suffered a blow in public trust, as the latest poll by research firm, the Global InfoAnalytics show declining levels of public confidence in the Police Service and the Electoral Commission (EC).
The poll saw voters who have confidence in the police to maintain order during the
elections declining from 64% in April 2024 to 58% in July while those who have no confidence jumped from 28% to 33%.
Similarly, the EC saw a decline in voters’ confidence as those who have confidence in their ability to organise free and fair elections dropped from 59% to 53% while those who do not have confidence in the commission increased from 32% to 38% during the period.
The results seem to corroborate some of the Afro Barometer findings in March about public trust in institutions such as the electoral body.
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While a majority of Ghanaians (64%) said the last elections were free and fair, there was an overwhelming decline in the number of citizens who had confidence in the EC.
“Only one-third (33%) of Ghanaians say they trust the Electoral Commission of Ghana ‘somewhat’ or ‘a lot,’ the lowest trust level recorded in more than two decades of Afrobarometer surveys.”
Recently, the biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and its presidential candidate threw a slew of accusations at the EC and its directors, alleging collusion between the electoral body and the ruling government.
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Analysts say the situation is worrying and have urged the election management body to restore public confidence.
“I am hoping that between now and December the actions and the inactions of the EC would reassure not even just our political parties but also reassure the citizens that they are independent, impartial fair arbiters of this election.” Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, a research fellow at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) said last month to Citi TV.
