Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has taken the lead over National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, in the latest flagbearer preference survey conducted by Global InfoAnalytics.
The survey, according to the Chief Executive Officer of Global InfoAnalytics, Musah Dankwa, points to changing preferences among NDC supporters, with notable shifts in support across some regions.
Mr. Dankwa said the factors influencing the movement in support were difficult to attribute to one particular development, explaining that two questions included in the survey offered some insight into what was shaping the views of respondents.
One of the questions sought to establish whether the NDC National Chairman should remain in his current position or contest the party’s presidential primaries.
According to Mr. Dankwa, about 58 percent of respondents said the National Chairman should remain chairman rather than contest for the flagbearer position.
Although the figure represents a slight decline from the July survey, he said the proportion remains significant.
He further explained that about 55 percent of respondents who support Dr. Ato Forson’s candidacy believe his performance in managing the economy is a major factor behind their preference for him.
That figure, he noted, has also declined slightly compared with the previous survey, suggesting that other considerations may be influencing the changing preferences among party supporters.
Mr. Dankwa said the latest survey had recorded significant shifts in support in three regions, particularly the Bono, Western North and Eastern regions.
He noted that the development in the Bono Region was particularly notable because it had previously been considered a stronghold of Mr. Asiedu Nketia.
“What we’ve seen is a shift actually in two regions. One was Nketia’s old region, Bono region, which surprisingly is going for Ato Forson this time around,” Mr. Dankwa said.
He added that the movement in the Bono Region was accompanied by a similar shift in the Western North Region, a development he said had contributed significantly to the overall changes recorded in the latest survey.
“Alongside Western North, usually where Bono goes, Western North goes. So the switch in support for chairman in Bono and Western North accounts for a big number of these changes that we are seeing, as well as the Eastern Region numbers, which has favoured Ato Forson strongly,” he explained.
The findings come as the NDC’s internal contest for the party’s next presidential candidate continues to generate interest among party supporters, with several potential candidates positioning themselves ahead of the eventual primaries.
The latest movement in regional support could therefore become significant as the contenders seek to consolidate their positions and broaden their appeal across the party’s grassroots.
Source: Newspyramid.com
