Undecided voters lean more to top position candidates on ballots

Dr Bernard Tutu-Boahene, a political marketing specialist, says the position of candidates on the ballot paper can influence delegates’ decisions in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) upcoming Special Electoral College Election.

He told the Ghana News Agency, following the NPP’s balloting on Wednesday, that indecisive voters were more inclined to vote for candidates toward the top of the ballot sheet.

In an interview, Dr Tutu-Boahene said delegates who are firm on which candidates they would vote for would not bother about the position of their preferred candidate but would be driven by the images on the ballot paper.

Given the number of candidates engaged, he stated that the Electoral Commission must ensure that the images on the voting paper are adequately separated to avoid mistakes that could result in ballots being rejected.

“Sometimes it is what the brain picks that the eye looks for. If you have the voter’s mind fixed to a particular name or image, the arrangement or numbers don’t really matter.
“But when the voter is not sure of whom to vote for, the images that the eye picks once the person opens the ballot is what the person will go for.

Normally the eye level goes to the first three, the images at the top and if the person is not ok then he/she goes downwards,” he explained.

Dr Tutu-Boahene said the decision of voters could also be influenced by the ability of the candidates to carve meaningful messages from their positions that would resonate and appeal to the delegates.

“The position really may not matter but the slogan and the messages you put to the numbers…the marketing bit of the slogans gives you some kind of positioning advantage,” he said.

Presidential aspirants of the NPP on Wednesday picked spots on the ballot sheets ahead of the Party’s Special Electoral College elections on August 26, this year.

The balloting, which took place at the party’s headquarters in Accra, is the first leg of the party’s internal election to select a presidential candidate for the 2024 general election.

At the end of the exercise, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central picked the number one spot, followed by Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, with Joe Ghartey picking the third spot.

Mr. Kwadwo Poku, an Energy Expert picked fourth position; Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, fifth, Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, sixth, Francis Addai Nimoh, seventh; Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, eighth and Mr Boakye Kyeremanteng Agyarko, ninth.
Vice President Bawumia took the 10th position.

Since Wednesday’s balloting, the campaign staff of the various candidates have assigned favourable interpretations to their statements, implying that they are on the verge of victory.

The NPP has set August 26, 2023, for its Special Electoral College elections to trim the number of presidential aspirants from 10 to five ahead of its National Congress in November.