By Edward Acquah
Accra, Sept. 26, GNA – A Citizens Perception Survey has placed Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), ahead of other potential contenders in perceptions of suitability and ability to unite the Party ahead of its flagbearer election.
The survey, conducted by Professor Smart Sarpong, Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Kumasi Technical University, found Mr Asiedu Nketia leading respondents’ preferences on who could best unite the NDC and who was most suitable to lead the Party.
It sampled 9,330 respondents across 11 regions between September 10 and 20, 2026, comprising 5,580 stakeholders and 3,750 core NDC delegates.
The regions were Upper East, North East, Northern, Savannah, Bono, Ahafo, Western, North Western, Central, Greater Accra and Ashanti.
On the ability to unite the Party, Mr Asiedu Nketia, popularly known as “General Mosquito,” obtained 24.5 per cent, followed by Mr Eric Opoku, Minister of Food and Agriculture, with 20.4 per cent.
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Minister of Finance, followed with 12.5 per cent, while Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Education, recorded 9.4 per cent.
Dr Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff, polled 6.1 per cent, followed by Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang with 5.2 per cent and Professor Joshua Alabi with 3.6 per cent.
On suitability to lead the Party, Mr Asiedu Nketia again emerged ahead with 27.6 per cent, narrowly followed by Mr Opoku with 26.4 per cent.
Dr Ato Forson followed with 16.1 per cent, while Mr Iddrisu recorded 10.4 per cent.
Prof Sarpong cautioned against interpreting the findings as a prediction of the outcome of the NDC’s eventual flagbearer election, as the contest had not formally begun.
“We are not doing predictions yet. For now, we are looking at attributes of a possible flagbearer, and one of them is the ability to unify the party,” he said.
He said the rankings could change significantly after prospective aspirants had picked nomination forms, undergone vetting and begun active campaigns.
Prof Sarpong said Mr Asiedu Nketia appeared to have established an early lead, while Mr Opoku was gaining ground.
He said uncertainty over whether some of the potential aspirants would eventually enter the race was also reflected in the responses.
The survey comes at a time when the NDC has not opened nominations for its flagbearer election, with none of the potential aspirants named in the survey having publicly declared an intention to contest.
On Ghana’s political environment, 52.1 per cent of respondents described the political temperature as calm, 35.3 per cent as somewhat calm and 12.6 per cent as not calm.
Within the NDC, 63.1 per cent described the environment as calm, 22.4 per cent as somewhat calm and 14.5 per cent as not calm.
Prof Sarpong urged political parties to pay attention to the minority who perceived tensions within their structures, saying unresolved concerns could affect participation in internal elections.
The survey also identified unemployment and lack of job opportunities as the most urgent community-level concern, cited by 40.4 per cent of respondents, followed by poor road infrastructure.
Other concerns included access to healthcare, sanitation and waste management, potable water, security and electricity extension.
On the performance of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, 43.1 per cent of respondents rated their performance as normal, 13.4 per cent as good and 4.6 per cent as very good, while 38.9 per cent rated them as poor or very poor.
Prof Sarpong said an expanded assessment covering more districts would be conducted later in the year.
On economic conditions, 51.2 per cent of respondents said their economic situation had remained unchanged over the previous 12 months, while 24.6 per cent said it had improved and 16 per cent said it had worsened.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Edward AcquahÂ
[email protected]Â Â