A recent nationwide survey conducted by Professor Smart Sarpong has placed Johnson Asiedu Nketia, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), ahead of other potential presidential contenders. The survey, which sampled 9,330 respondents, measured the ability of various individuals to unite the party and their overall suitability to lead it. The respondents were drawn from 11 regions in Ghana, including Upper East, North East, Northern, Savannah, Bono, Ahafo, Western, North Western, Central, Greater Accra, and Ashanti.
The survey, conducted between September 10 and 20, 2026, comprised 5,580 stakeholders and 3,750 core NDC delegates. The respondents were asked to evaluate the potential contenders based on their ability to unite the party, which has faced internal friction in recent years. Asiedu Nketia, also known as 'General Mosquito,' scored 24.5 percent, ahead of Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, who polled 20.4 percent.
On the question of suitability to lead the party, Asiedu Nketia again topped the list with 27.6 percent, narrowly ahead of Opoku's 26.4 percent. Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson followed with 16.1 percent, while Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu recorded 10.4 percent. The survey also found that 52.1 percent of all respondents described Ghana's political environment as calm.
The survey lands as the NDC continues to grapple with questions of internal cohesion ahead of its December 2026 internal elections. The party has been dealing with calls for a welfare fund for former MPs and district chief executives, part of a broader conversation about how the party manages its ranks and rewards loyalty ahead of the leadership contest.
Professor Sarpong cautioned that the numbers should not be read as a forecast of the outcome of the NDC's eventual flagbearer election, noting that the contest had not formally begun and none of the named individuals had publicly declared their candidacy. He said the survey was instead measuring perceived attributes of a possible flagbearer.
The survey also found that unemployment emerged as the top community-level concern, cited by 40.4 percent of respondents, ahead of poor road infrastructure. The Citizens Perception Survey used in this report measured opinions from both general party stakeholders and core delegates, the smaller group of officials who typically have a direct vote in internal party elections.
For NDC delegates and sympathizers, the survey offers the first broad data point on how party structures view the emerging field of potential flagbearer contenders. The outcome of the NDC's internal contest will help determine who leads the party into future national elections, with implications for policy direction depending on who eventually emerges.
Key points
- Johnson Asiedu Nketia leads in unity and suitability.
- The survey sampled 9,330 respondents from 11 regions in Ghana.
- The NDC's internal elections are scheduled for December 2026.
