Mussa Dankwah, Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, has dismissed claims that his organisation’s polling on the National Democratic Congress’ future flagbearer race is creating divisions within the party.

He argues that the surveys are instead helping to make the contest more transparent and manageable.

His remarks follow criticism from some quarters that publishing polls on potential NDC presidential contenders is generating unnecessary tension within the governing party.

Responding to the concerns in a video shared on X, Mr Dankwah questioned the basis of the criticism and maintained that opinion polling serves as a useful guide for both aspirants and political parties.

“I’ve had calls from people telling me all sorts of things. Look, let me tell you, if nothing at all, the NDC should be thanking me for helping sanitise the race coming,” he said.

Drawing comparisons with the New Patriotic Party’s 2007 presidential primary, he argued that the absence of reliable polling at the time contributed to an overcrowded contest.

“Let’s remember in 2007, there was no polling in this country and every aspirant, everybody who thought he had a chance, was contesting to run NPP. What happened? We had 17 candidates thinking that they could win. And up to today, the party is paying for that price.”

Mr Dankwah contended that credible polling allows prospective candidates to assess their level of support among both the public and party delegates before committing significant resources to a campaign.

“If Global Info had been in existence, helping aspirants or hopefuls understand the thinking of the people and the thinking of the delegates, some of them would have ruled themselves out.

"They wouldn’t have allowed themselves to be manipulated by people who have an interest in just making money out of them. They would have scaled it down to a reasonable number,” he said.

He added that the polls should be viewed as a tool to prevent overcrowded races and promote a more orderly selection process.

“NDC must look beyond just the polls and understand that what we are doing is helping those who may have ambition but have no chance to reconsider their options and avoid overcrowding the race.”

The pollster further disclosed that some individuals who had considered entering political contests had privately commissioned surveys from Global InfoAnalytics and later abandoned their ambitions after the findings indicated limited electoral viability.

“One thing, if nothing at all, they should give us credit for doing that because some people have come to us, some people who thought they had chances have come to us, and they’ve done private polling, and the poll had indicated that they are not viable, and they have shelved their ambition.

"Thanks to us. They are happy they have not allowed themselves to be deceived by any media person saying you are on the ground,” he stated.