Election 2020: Ben Ephson’s variables were skewed – UCC Lecturer

A political analyst with the University of Cape Coast Jonathan Asante Okyere has punched holes in the latest poll conducted by pollster Ben Ephson which predicts victory for president Akufo-Addo and the NPP in the December 7 elections.

Ben Ephson says president Akufo-Addo will secure 52.6% while John Mahama will garner 45.7 % of the total votes cast in the presidential race.

He posited factors such as the free SHS, nursing, and teacher trainee allowances and the fight against corruption as the reasons behind the prediction.

But speaking to Starr News, Jonathan Asante Okyere urged the two leading political parties to pick lessons from the opinion polls.

He posited “I think that the variables that Mr Ephson might have used are quite skewed because he feels that the respondents indicated the cancellation or the restoration of nurses allowances and teachers allowances and the free SHS, I think that that leaves the polling a bit unreliable. I think he should also have asked questions in relation to corruption.”

“The scandals that have been going on in our current government. What could have been the respondent’s views on that? What about people talking about nepotism and how it has influenced all the corruption scandals. What about NPP supporters themselves that are disgruntled to the effect that the current crop of NPP, they feel that it is skewed to just a narrow circle of people and obviously they want to bring them back into opposition to regroup and restructure the party again more or less.”

Mr Okyere went on to add that “I think that in as much as I wouldn’t want to condemn the pollster on the work he has done, I think that this particular polling that he’s done, the variables are quite skewed and I don’t think it creates a true representation of what he wanted to do.”

“The pollster has done his job it is either the NDC will pick the variable that was used and see how best they can complete those things to inure to their benefit. The NPP can equally rely on that and work more, or they can be complacent ”