accountable vs. cooperate
A strong majority of Ghanaians continue to prioritise government accountability over fast decision-making, the latest Afrobarometer survey reveals. Yet support for a government that can act decisively without citizen influence is growing.
Most citizens expect elected leaders to listen to voters’ views instead of deciding for themselves what is best for the country.
A large majority of Ghanaians affirm that the president must regularly report to Parliament and obey even those laws and court orders he disagrees with. And citizens evince strong support for law-making powers to reside with members of Parliament rather than with the president.
But two-thirds of citizens believe opposition parties should cooperate with the ruling government to support national development, while only one-third say the opposition should focus on holding the government accountable.
Key findings
- Two-thirds (68%) of Ghanaians say it is more important for citizens to be able to hold the government accountable, even if it leads to slower decision-making than it is to have an efficient government that does not listen to the public (Figure 1).
- But close to one-third (31%) prefer an efficient government, up from 20% in 2022.
- The overwhelming majority (85%) of citizens want their elected leaders to listen to voters’ views as opposed to following their ideas (85% vs. 14%) (Figure 2).
- Large majorities of respondents believe that members of Parliament should be in charge of making the country’s laws (76%), that the president must obey laws and court orders even if he disagrees with them (79%), and that the president should regularly report to Parliament on government expenditure (79%) (Figure 3).
- Asked about the appropriate role of opposition parties after losing an election, two-thirds (66%) of Ghanaians say they should cooperate with the government for the country’s development, while one-third (33%) say they should monitor and criticise the government to hold it to account (Figure 4).
Afrobarometer surveys
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Nine survey rounds in up to 42 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 10 surveys were launched in January 2024. Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.
The Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,400 adult Ghanaians in August 2024.
A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Ghana in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022.
