The New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its 2024 candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia have had a continuous increase in positive sentiments on social media according to the latest review by policy think tank IMANI Africa.
IMANI’s Public Understanding and Literacy for Sentiment and Election (PULSE) analysis for the month of April found that the ruling party maintained its momentum on positive sentiments from last month, increasing to around 15.32%, while the NDC’s remained relatively the same at 9.48%.
Read Also: NPP Leads in Positive Sentiment on Social Media Posts – IMANI Report
Both parties however had a significant drop in public negative sentiment, with NPP having an almost 5% drop and the NDC also having around a 4% drop in negative sentiments.
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Dr Bawumia’s public stance on LGBTQ+ issues for instance boosted and resonated his positive sentiments given the country’s conservative posture on the matter.
“The public stance on the issue of LGBTQ+ by candidate Bawumia on the auspicious occasion of the Eid celebrations contributed much to his positive sentiments on social media. Additionally, his visit within the same period to the Vatican led to more mentions as well as positive sentiments over the period, with less negative sentiment. Also, to be noted is his renovation of the Jakpa palace which also led to many positive sentiments and less negative sentiments,” the report said.
The recent Ejisu primaries also accounted for some of the NPP’s positive sentiments as it triggered a rise in mentions for the party on social media, the report added.
For the NDC and its candidate, John Mahama, issues around the “Dumsor” power crisis, taxes, and the party’s recent press briefing on the SML scandal triggered some positive sentiments for it on social media, the report said.
“Additionally, and more significantly, the outdooring of his Vice candidate, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman has boosted interactions on social media significantly, with over 4 million reaches on the day of the unveiling alone, as well as heavily positive sentiments on the day in question, from the limited samples that were analyzed. On the day in question, positive sentiments were over 70%,” the report noted.
The report further highlights that although the NPP leads in mentions on social media, the opposition NDC leads when it comes to non-social media reach. This includes sources like blogs, websites, podcasts, and the like stating that “Discussions regarding Mahama’s candidacy and ongoing power crisis are dominating the narrative.”
Other Contenders
The New Force’s Nana Kwame Bediako continues to dominate discussions about independent candidates going into the 2024 elections, although mentions for most of the actors in this space still remained negligible compared to the NPP and NDC.
“He still commands engagement and a growing following, with increasing positive sentiments now around a 45% mark for his mentions. His most dominant “#thenewforce” hashtag has quite a reach on social media in addition to his over 12 million post reach, which is quite significant. However, active engagements on his posts have reduced over the period,” the report said.
Movement for Change leader, Alan Kyerematen, according to the report featured this time in mentions and sentiments owing to the launch of a recent partnership with seven other political groups.
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“They have been engaging more and this has led to an uptick in their mentions and sentiments, which are largely positive and favourable on social media,” the report indicated.
