The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has yet
again predicted victory for the opposition New Patriotic Party in the 2016
elections, this time, a convincing one.The Unit in April released the
report of a survey that suggested the NPP would win the upcoming elections by a
close margin.
But, according to a new report released Thursday, the
presidential and parliamentary elections in December are likely to be
acrimonious but the NPP will turn out victors with a convincing
margin.
The report says the discontent over adverse economic conditions
in the country is likely to cost the ruling party the elections.
The
report comes at a time the country is still reeling under a four-year-old power
crisis which has affected businesses and led to loss of lives and jobs. The
combined effect of an increase in taxes, utility prices have all the more made
the cost of living high for many Ghanaians.
The EIU says "pre-election
spending in 2016 will put pressure on the fiscal deficit target set in
conjunction with the IMF, although the government will be more successful at
resisting large-scale populist spending than in previous election
years."
Threats of violence
The report minced no
words about the possibility of violence in the upcoming elections. It said the
elections will expose Ghana to notable risks, some of which will come from
outside.
With the reports of corruption in the country's judiciary and
the experiences in the 2012 election petition, the report suggests none of the
parties will be interested in going to the Supreme Court to challenge the
verdict of the election, a situation that has raised political tensions a notch
higher.
The representatives of the two parties mentioned in the reports
have predictably praised portions of the report and condemned portions of as
well.
The New Patriotic Party's Moustapha Hamid said he and his party did
not need the report of EIU to know that the governing party will be humiliated
in the upcoming elections.
He said he just returned on a five regional
tour with the party's running mate and can say without any equivocation "that
there is no way the NDC will beat us." "I have been involved in political
campaigns since 2004 but have never seen this groundswell of support for the
NPP," he said, adding, "this is the year the people of Ghana are ready to change
course."
A Deputy General Secretary of the governing NDC, Koku Anyidoho,
said the report is inconsistent.
He wondered how the report will suggest
that the ruling government is not doing well with the economy but conclude any
party that wins the elections will inherit a stable economy ready for a
take-off.
He said the president has done a good job began by the late
President John Mills, and the people of Ghana will give him another term to
complete his job. |
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