Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Oforikrom Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Emmanuel Marfo has asserted that manifestos of political parties hardly influence voting patterns in Ghana.
According to him, most voters in Ghana vote for a particular political party because they are party members and not because of the party’s vision as outlined in their manifesto.
Assessing the impact of manifestos during elections, the MP in an interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Samuel Eshun, host of the Happy Morning Show said, “I don’t think manifestos impact voter behaviour in this country. I believe most people vote for a party because they are members of that party.”
He opined that the few neutrals or swing voters who listen to the vision of candidates and look at their character are perhaps the only ones whose voting behaviour are influenced by manifestos. “Some areas have huge neutrals and swing votes during elections because of manifestos but largely speaking, manifestos don’t impact our votes in Ghana.”
Dr. Marfo accorded that the understanding of democracy and partisanship politics in Ghana has not grown to the level, where most voters can critically analyze manifestos before deciding their votes.
“Saying this doesn’t mean manifestos are not important. It gives political parties the chance to outline a vision of their own and give them a direction to take should they come to power.”
He believes that on the principle of demand and supply, governments owe accountability to Ghanaians.
“The gov’t still owes the people accountability as we have voted them to power. Whether we looked at your manifesto to vote or not, you are mandated by the constitution to be accountable.”
The politician furthered that the manifestos are important as they give voters and civil society organizations the opportunity to also hold the government accountable. “It is up to civil societies and policy think tanks to take up these manifestos and do their independent assessment and analysis.”
The MP reiterated that the above are the extent to which manifestos are important but “they don’t influence voter behaviour in this country.”
By: Joel Sanco
