People often ask of my views on the 2024 presidential election in Ghana, especially, knowing my history with presidential campaigns, from research to strategy.
I tell them what I see from where I sit. Which is that for the presidency, it looks like a tight race and probably the most fluid contest we have ever seen, as more voters now than ever in previous elections appear to be making up or changing their minds, as more facts and sharper campaign messages are used to disrupt opinions earlier formed.
From my observatory, the closer we get to December 7, the more appealing the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and his vision become. For the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, the D-Day cannot come early enough. It is about stopping the chipping away rotor.
A couple of factors may also be responsible for this: a greater objective scrutiny by voters of the alternative to the ruling NPP, with a less prejudicial look at the work done since 2017, as compared to the previous eight, and linked to that is a deeper comparative analysis of the two leading presidential candidates, their respective leadership track records and what each of them has to offer.
For those who engage me on what I think, I always sum up my response this way: that in the end, we should trust Ghanaian voters to do what they see as best for them and country. However, in a tight race such as this and the time left, it will all boil down to which party has the most effective D-Day strategy, particularly, who deploys the most efficient voter mobilisation plan.
From my humble observation, voters are being guided by a few key considerations which I will touch on below. Over these closing days to the elections, I expect the narrative to narrow down to a naked personality contest; stripping them down and focusing more and more on the two leading candidates: what they say, what they do, what they have done, what they can be trusted to do, which character trait of theirs that either appeals to or frightens voters.
Which of these two men – Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former President John Dramani Mahama – will you, the voter, want to lead Ghana over the next four years? That is the searching question that each and every voter should evaluate properly, without the weight of emotions.
Which of them can you trust to protect and promote the education of your children and the health of older folks? Who can best build the roads in your community, keep the light on and the water flowing, affordably? Which of the two can you trust to manage the economy with care, caution and competence?
Who is better plugged into the livewires of global economic trends and Ghana’s strategic position in the building of Africa’s single market of 1.4 billion consumers?
Not from what they say, but from what you know about them, which of them can you trust on corruption? Which of the two do you believe can better protect and grow the public purse?
Which of them has really convinced you about his agenda for jobs? Which of the two has persuaded you enough with his vision and policy initiatives that he really knows what time it is?
This is part one of a four-part series.
By Gabby Otchere-Darko