Election 2020: Report says 50% of the Members of Parliament in Ghana are likely to lose their seats

This follows a survey the department conducted titled ‘A midterm study on MPs: Emerging issues’.

According to the report, about 50% of Ghanaians said they will not vote for their incumbent Member of Parliament citing poor performance and a lack of representation.

42.6% of the respondents were also of the view that their MPs deserve a second chance, 7.9% of the respondents were undecided.

Other respondents also did not want incumbent MPs to contest in 2020 general elections.

The respondents were also asked to rate the performance of parliamentarians and the result showed that less than half of the respondents representing 45.7% were satisfied. 52.3% were not satisfied with the performance of the parliamentarians.

The research further noted that the supposed poor performance on the part of the MPs was responsible for voter apathy among the electorate.

The research also disclosed that at the national level, 87.8% declared their intentions to vote in the upcoming general elections as against 9.7% who said they will not vote if elections were going to be held today. Some 2.5% of the respondents were undecided.

The respondents were again asked to rate the performance of their MPs so far on the scale of ‘Excellent to very bad’ less than half 45.7% were satisfied, the majority, 52.3% were dissatisfied.

“Generally poor performance on the part of the elected induces apathy in the electorate. It is therefore interesting that in spite of the generally non-impressive performance of MPs, more than four out of every five respondents said they would vote, 9.7% declined to vote and 2.5% were undecided,” the report said.

A total of 27,500 Ghanaians in selected areas within the 275 constituencies in the country participated in the study.

MPs called to action

The researchers called on Parliamentarians to be circumspect with the kinds of promises they make during campaigns adding that their continuous absence from their constituency could affect their re-election bids.

“MPs should carefully weigh their campaign promises as their constituents would hold them accountable for those promises,” the report noted, adding that, “Several constituents are concerned about the continued absence of their MPs from their communities, they must, therefore, improve their levels of interaction and communication with their constituents.”

The researchers disclosed that a total of 27,500 Ghanaians in selected areas within the 275 constituencies in the country participated in the study.