Franklin Cudjoe, the President of IMANI Africa, has announced that according to the IMANI Africa Sentiment Report, which covers the period from April 21 to May 17, 2024, there was an increase in the positive sentiments towards the NDC of about 3 percentage points.
He noted that this increase raised the positive sentiments from 11.38% to 14.56%, which indicates an improvement in the sentiments compared to the previous period.
He noted, however, that although the NPP remains ahead in social media positive sentiment, its lead has narrowed significantly, with a marginal decline from 15.76% to 15.17%, as the NDC has made considerable gains during the period under review.
Furthermore, Franklin Cudjoe pointed out that the purely negative sentiment towards both party candidates remained relatively stable, with minimal fluctuations of less than 1% in either direction, indicating no significant change over the period.
As such, he pointed out that people who spoke of NPP negatively fell marginally to 12.5% from 12.16% while NDC’s negative sentiments increase from around 15% to 16.36%.
“NPP still leads in mentions on social media. Unlike in the last period, the NPP has opened a big gap in mentions over the last period. The period under review had NPP having around 58% of total mentions, while the NDC had 41% of mentions”.
Franklin Cudjoe
Furthermore, Franklin Cudjoe found it noteworthy that despite having fewer mentions and lower positive sentiment, the NDC has achieved a wider social media reach for its posts, suggesting that social media users who support the NDC are more actively engaging with and sharing content about the party, driving its online presence.
Accordingly, he noted that the NDC had a reach of 2 million more than the NPP despite having 16% fewer mentions under review.
Moreover, he observed that the NPP, as the ruling party, holds a natural advantage, particularly with Vice President Bawumia’s increased visibility through his nationwide tours, which will likely dominate the public discourse.
“NPP has always had the momentum naturally in mentions on social media”. – Franklin Cudjoe
NDC Outperforms NPP In Social Media Impact
Furthermore, Franklin Cudjoe pointed out that when examining the ratio of mentions to reach and the Average Revenue Equivalent, it becomes clear that the NDC achieved more impact with less content, garnering greater value from its mentions in terms of audience engagement and content spread, indicating a significant advantage in terms of online traction.
As such he observed that the most significant surges in negative sentiment towards John Mahama and the NDC coincided with President Nana Akufo-Addo’s public address, in which he criticized John Mahama’s efforts to protect his legacy, triggering a notable backlash.
Franklin Cudjoe also highlighted that the peak of negative sentiment occurred between May 8th and 9th, coinciding with the intense debates and a surge in online mentions of both candidates.
He indicated that notably, during this period, Candidate Bawumia received more positive sentiment and fewer negative comments compared to Candidate Mahama.
“Candidate Bawumia had more negative mentions when it came to the issue of the nurses’ allowance and the inability of the government to pay the nurses. Other issues that affected Candidate Bawumia were the issue of the taxation of churches and how he joked that the government should rather pay churches”.
Franklin Cudjoe
Furthermore, Franklin Cudjoe stated that Presidential Candidate Mahama also gained some comments and mentions with relation to his address on how AI will boost mining. “These created talking points in the media”, he added
Franklin Cudjoe further announced that, in the lead-up to the 2024 General Elections, IMANI is introducing PULSE, a biweekly report that harnesses social media data to gauge the sentiments of Ghanaians, providing a regular snapshot of the nation’s opinions and concerns.
As such he explained that the IMANI PULSE aims to track and analyze social media sentiment surrounding the leading political candidates and parties, as well as identify influential trends, topics, and opinion leaders that are driving online conversations and shaping public discourse in the run-up to the election.
“The analyses are referenced from the following platforms: Facebook (formerly, Twitter),YouTube, Web,TikTok,Podcasts, Newsfeeds” – Franklin Cudjoe
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