President Mahama’s approval rate remains positive at 58.9% — IEA survey shows

President John Dramani Mahama continues to enjoy majority support among Ghanaians, although his approval rating has dropped by more than nine percentage points over a five-month period, according to a nationwide survey by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) released on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.

The survey forms part of the IEA’s regular tracking of presidential performance.

The survey, conducted in May 2026 across all 16 regions with over 1,000 respondents, placed the President’s job approval rating at 58.9 percent. This compares with 68 percent recorded in an earlier IEA poll conducted in December 2025 and published in February 2026, reflecting a decline of 9.1 percentage points.

A separate survey by Global InfoAnalytics in December 2025 also recorded an approval rating of 67 percent, broadly consistent with the IEA’s earlier findings. At its peak, one month after President Mahama assumed office in February 2025, Global InfoAnalytics had reported an approval rating of 84 percent.

Despite the decline, the gap between approval and disapproval remains significant. The May 2026 survey showed that 28.4 percent of respondents disapproved of the President’s performance, while 12.8 percent had no opinion, leaving a wide margin in favour of approval overall.

The IEA noted that while public support remains relatively strong, the downward trend suggests growing public expectation that improvements in macroeconomic indicators should translate more visibly into better living conditions.

On the economic front, the institute reported notable improvements over the past 16 months. Inflation declined from 23.5 percent in January 2025 to about 3.4 percent in April 2026. The cedi also appreciated by 26 percent against major foreign currencies, while the Bank of Ghana’s policy rate fell from 27 percent to 14 percent. Average commercial bank lending rates dropped from about 32 percent to around 20 percent.

Additionally, Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio decreased from 61.8 percent at the end of 2024 to 45.3 percent by the end of 2025. During the same period, international rating agencies Fitch, Moody’s and S&P upgraded Ghana’s sovereign credit rating.

Among respondents who approved of the President’s performance, 73.5 percent cited economic management as the main reason, while 16 percent pointed to road infrastructure. Energy and electricity issues accounted for 2.7 percent.

For those who disapproved, the economy also featured prominently, with 30.9 percent expressing concerns about economic conditions. The IEA suggested this may reflect a gap between improved national indicators and household-level experiences, particularly regarding incomes and the cost of living.

Electricity supply was the second most cited concern among disapproving respondents at 29.9 percent, with the institute noting that the survey was conducted shortly after temporary power disruptions in May 2026 led to outages in parts of the country.

Corruption was cited by 19.1 percent of respondents who disapproved of the President’s performance, with the IEA observing continued public demand for stronger action in addressing the issue.

Overall, the institute concluded that while Ghanaians remain broadly supportive of President Mahama’s leadership, there is growing expectation that macroeconomic gains will translate into more tangible improvements in daily life.

Modernghana.com