The call for Mussa Dankwah to halt his polls From some quarters within the political class is hypocritical and untenable. He is not setting any Agenda as viewed by the public. It's the Political Parties and Politicians who are setting the agenda for Musa to follow. Pollsters conduct polls in accordance with Public sentiments and trending issues, they do not control the narratives as far as public discourse is concerned. They essentially mirror the sentiments of the general public on matters that are in vague.
If an opposition political party, who’s mandate is to keep government in check, abandons that oversight role, and in less than a year into opposition are scrambling for another opportunity to come back to government, with a surprise announcement of early Polls to elect a Presidential candidate, followed by election of national executives by Jan 2026, a pollster under these circumstances cannot help but follow this lead and also gauge the sentiments of the general public on it.
Similarly, if key elements of a ruling party whose core mandate is to deliver on the socio-economic needs of the People, are seen in some subtle moves, strategically positioning themselves as heir apparent to their leader, through “Thank you Tours “and health walks, it certainly cannot escape the prying lens of a pollster at least not the likes of Mussa Dankwah a man who’s carved a niche for himself as a credible pollster in Ghanaian political circles.
From the foregoing, nothing could be farther from the truth that, it’s the conduct of the Political elements that subconsciously controls the narrative in our governance system and not the harmless Pollster who only gauges Public reaction to these trending issues.
In Principle, it is okay to aspire for higher Political office, but timing should be the watchword of these Politicians who aim for such top jobs. Some introspection among the Political class would help them to discern between Political “off seasons” and “boom seasons”.
A nation that just came from a fiercely fought elections last year should be mostly preoccupied with bread and butter issues at least for the better part of the 1st term of the government, but when the Political class from both sides of the divide exhibits an unbridled and unquenchable quest for power, the Pollster would have no option than to make news out of same.
In a nutshell, if we want Mussa Dankwah to halt his Polls, it would only be fair and Proper to also call on the Political class to be discerning and know when to peak and when not to, with their Political ambitions. But as it stands now, the insatiable thirst for Power among the Political class is what is informing the numerous heavy Political engagements across both sides of the divide . The Pollster is the least to be blamed in the scheme of things, because his role just like the media is to act as conveyer belt of the issues.
Author
Michael Ameley Tettey is a Policy Analyst with interest in politics, governance and law.
