42 % of Ghanaians aware of Dec 17 referendum – Survey
A new Afro barometer survey has revealed that more than half of Ghanaians are not aware of the upcoming December 17, 2019 referendum.
It added that only 42 per cent of Ghanaians are aware of the December 2019 referendum on whether local government elections should be made partisan or remain non –partisan out of 2400 respondents.
The survey indicated that men, the highly educated and elderly citizens are more aware of the referendum than women, citizens with less schooling and young adults, although a slim majority of those who are aware of the referendum find the Electoral Commission’s preparations for the referendum to be satisfactory, very few said there has been a lot education about the voting exercise.
Among those who were aware of the election, 54 per cent said the Electoral Commission’s preparation had been satisfactory with 18 per cent saying there have been enough education about the referendum.
Presenting the report in Accra on Tuesday, Dr Esther Ofei Aboagye said the Afro barometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development Survey showed 58 per cent admitting voting on the day of election though they have little knowledge about it.
She said men are likely to vote looking at the demographics over women, with members of the People National Convention leading the chat.
Dr Kwesi Jona, a senior research fellow of the Institute of Democratic Governance said what was critical at the stage was the need for a very strong public education on the merits and demerits of the referendum
“We need to educate and sensitise the public to what shall take place on December 17, 2019 and help them to understand the local governance system through the role of civic education. We must also educate voters on the district level and the unit committee elections.
Afro barometer heads a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude survey on democracy, governance, economic conditions and related issues across Africa.
Seven rounds of surveys have been completed in 38 countries between 1999 and 2018.
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY
