A survey conducted by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, has discovered a worrying public perception about the Electoral Commission’s (EC) ability to effectively declare voting results.
Even though 63% of Ghanaians believe the Commission will perform its duties neutrally, guided by law, almost half of the voter population believes that the EC will likely announce wrong vote tallies or switch election results.
“63 percent deem the prospect of their votes not being counted unlikely, but nearly a third remain skeptical, while a large minority (46%), believe it is very/somewhat likely that the wrong vote tally would be announced,” a release from the CDD said.
The survey, which sampled views from over 2000 individuals of voting age, also revealed that most voters are still being coerced for their votes.
According to the survey, “most Ghanaians abhor vote buying and believe it is ‘wrong and punishable’ for a candidate to buy and for a citizen to sell vote. But a quarter and less than 1 in 5, respectively, condone vote-selling and vote-buying.
They deem it ‘wrong but understandable’ or ‘not wrong at all’.” But in what may be viewed as an endorsement of the EC’s process ahead of the polls, 71 percent of Ghanaians, 63 percent of the surveyed persons, deem the prospect of their votes not being counted unlikely.
“Ghanaians express some concerns about the electoral system. Seven in 10 Ghanaians (71%) believe they enjoy vote secrecy, but a quarter of the population think otherwise. Sixty-three percent deem the prospect of their votes not being counted unlikely, but nearly a third remain skeptical, while a large minority (46%), believe it is very/somewhat likely that the wrong vote tally would be announced.”
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