Pollster Ben Ephson has issued a warning regarding the declining votes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta Region, a region traditionally seen as their stronghold in terms of electoral support. According to Ephson, the NDC’s vote share in the region has decreased by 6.6 percent over the past three elections, which he believes is a concerning trend for the main opposition party.
Ephson emphasized that in order for a party to win a general election, it must secure a significant number of votes in its strongholds and then compete for votes in swing regions with other parties. Failing to maximize their support in their stronghold would make winning the elections virtually impossible, he cautioned.
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Ephson, who also serves as the Managing Editor of the Dispatch newspaper, made these comments in response to the decision by the NDC to declare former Deputy National Youth Organiser Eric Edem Agbana as the winner of the parliamentary primaries in the Ketu North Constituency in the Volta Region. A special committee established by the party’s Functional Executive Committee (FEC) reached this resolution on Tuesday, May 16th, following a tie between Agbana and John Kwabla Adanu during the Saturday primaries, which involved eight aspirants.
Although both candidates celebrated their perceived victories, the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) maintained that it was an even tie with each candidate receiving 359 votes. Ephson, speaking on TV3, suggested that if the NDC believes that Edem Agbana is popular, they should opt for a rerun. As an observer and political analyst, he expressed the view that if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) strategically fields a popular candidate from the opposing camp, they would have a higher chance of winning since the votes would be split, indicating popularity for both contenders.
