Global InfoAnalytics polls could discourage minor parties – Hassan Ayariga

The founder and chairman of All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga, believes that the latest polls conducted by Global InfoAnalytics into the 2024 presidential election have the potential to discourage supporters of minor political parties.

His argument is that supporters of the minor political parties that did not do well in the presidential polls will be discouraged while it will motivate the parties that performed well in the polls.

The Global InfoAnalytics in its latest presidential polls released on Monday, April 8, 2024, tipped the flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President John Dramani Mahama, as the potential winner of the 2024 election with 54.3 per cent.

He was followed by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) with 34.9 per cent; while the leader and founder of Movement for Change (M4C), Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, polled 7.5 per cent.

Similarly, the leader of the New Force Movement (NFM), Nana Kwame Bediako, polled 2.3 per cent with those classified as “others” gathering one per cent.

The poll, which was conducted using weighted polling data, said among first-time voters, Mr Mahama led Dr Bawumia with 52 per cent as against 33 per cent and among non-first-time voters, Mr Mahama led Dr Bawumia with 55 per cent to 35 per cent.

“In a twist at the regional level, Mr Mahama now leads in the North East Region with 58 per cent; Dr Bawumia, 26 per cent and Mr Kyerematen, 11 per cent,” it said. The poll indicated that in the turnaround for Dr Bawumia in the Ashanti Region, he had now regained the lead with 54 per cent; Mr Mahama, 31 per cent; Mr Kyerematen, 12 per cent, and Nana Kwame Bediako, 2 per cent.

Reacting to the results of the polls on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, Mr Ayariga said the sampling size and where it was collected did not favour most of the minor political parties.

For him, the poll favoured only the two dominant political parties in the country–NDC and NPP, arguing that campaigning for the 2024 election had not even started for the pollster to come out with reflective results.

“It is an issue of mindset,” he said. He was of the view that the poll could have been conducted after all the minor political parties had elected their flag bearers and had started their campaigning activities.