Back in the days, Ghanaian voters were really predictable but with time, however, they’ve become sophisticated and unpredictable, something the politicians haven’t realised.
Thanks to technology, messages travel faster these days and so propaganda does not fly well.
If there is anything politicians need to take a critical look at when campaigning for power, then these are some of the few things they need to look at, because these are the things that influence the decision of Ghanaian voters.
1. Personality
Gone are the days when we didn’t have many TV stations and so most Ghanaians couldn’t study how the candidate a party is presenting behaves. These days, all eyes are on every candidate who sits on TV and the Ghanaian voter really takes a critical look and study the patterns of how he thinks of them, feel and behave.
2. Charisma
There is also that kind of attractiveness or charm that inspire devotion towards the candidate and so we have voters who are influenced by the charisma of the candidate and nothing else.
3. The economy
Some years back, the economy could be pretty bad and yet the people will still retain the incumbent based on certain influences. This was because many did not understand the various economic indicators and fuel prices were their only measure so it was easy for government to play around it. But today, most voters are really good at studying economic factors and knows when the government is beating around the bush.
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4. Bribery and corruption
If a government is unable to control corruption in his governance, this can influence a lot of voters, because most Ghanaians have become watchdogs.
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5. Infrastructure
There are voters who are easily convinced by an infrastructure the government puts in place.
6. The politicians language
Ghanaians really love peace and so as a politician, you should be very careful about the message you put out there when campaigning. In 1996, Adu Boahen made a little derogatory statement towards the opponent by saying, “won se 3ye akatamanso, 3y3 akatabinso”, and that really affected a lot of his votes. In 2008, Nana Addo said, “All die be die”, and in 2015, Mahama said, “he’s a dead goat” and many other statements that contributed directly to his downfall.
7. Tribalism
Yes! Tribalism really plays a big role in Ghanaian politics and we have parties that will still vote for a bad government so far as they are from their tribe. There are voters who don’t care about how the country is moving and will still skew towards their tribe’s men no matter the situation.
8. The candidate’s intelligence
How smart or intelligent a candidate is really influenced a lot of voters decision these days and this is studied based on how you talk and analyse situations.
9. Family tradition
There are voters who are influenced by what the family believes in and with such people, there’s nothing you can do to change their mind. They grew up seeing all their family members subscribing to a particular party and become guilty by association. They don’t study anything, so long as the family is going this way, he or she is part of it.
Photo: Ray Style’s Hand/Penciled Celebrities
10. Money
To some voters, an election is a time to make some big money and so they are easily influenced by money. The highest bidder always wins their vote.
11. Respect
If there is one thing any politician shouldn’t take for granted then it is respect towards the Ghanaian voter. Insulting the intelligence of the Ghanaian voter can easily influence their vote especially when you use derogatory words to describe them.
Photo By Eric Miller
12. Peaceful candidate
As we said, Ghanaians love peace and so the candidate who really preaches peace can win the heart of the voters. A strategy the NDC used in 2008 by portraying the late John Evans Atta Mills as a peaceful man.
Reuters/Joshua Roberts
13. Religion
Some voters are really influenced by the religion of the candidate, this is a strategy well understood by the political parties and hence there’s always a Muslim and a Christian ticket.
Photo: Flagstaff House Communications
14. History
Some voters take a look at the achievements of the party from what they did and based on history decides to vote for them.
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