The Volta Region has once again solidified its place as the most dependable electoral stronghold of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
This is according to a pre-election study conducted by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) on the 2024 general elections.
The study paints a portrait of resolute and widespread support for the NDC across all major demographic categories. From gender to age, religion to education, and employment status to ethnic identity, the region’s backing of the NDC remains overwhelming and largely undiluted.
Women, in particular, displayed exceptionally strong loyalty to the party, while men also gave the NDC commanding support. The party led comfortably across all age groups, religious denominations, and educational levels, with only marginal gains recorded for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) among middle-aged and highly educated voters.
Ethnic dynamics further underscored the NDC’s dominance, as the party maintained near-total allegiance across ethnic lines, with the Akan group emerging as the sole demographic in the region to lean towards the NPP.
Professionally, the NDC received broad-based endorsement from farmers, traders, students, and workers within both the formal and informal sectors, illustrating a deep cross-sectional appeal rarely rivalled elsewhere in the country.
For the NPP and other political contenders, the Volta Region remains a steep electoral mountain to climb. Despite national-level campaigning and modest efforts to broaden appeal among the educated middle class, the data suggest the region remains politically insulated and loyal to its traditional choices.
Below is the detailed outcome of the study
Gender and Voting Behaviour
Among both male and female voters in the Volta Region, the NDC secured dominant support. Out of 411 male voters surveyed, 86.1 per cent voted for the NDC, while only 12.2 per cent supported the NPP.
A small fraction (1.7 per cent) backed other parties. Among female voters, support for the NDC was even more pronounced, with 93.2 per cent voting for the party, while the NPP received just 5 per cent.
A small percentage (1.8 per cent) of female voters supported other parties. This pattern reveals that while both men and women overwhelmingly favoured the NDC, women displayed an even higher level of loyalty. The NPP received relatively more support from men than women, but its overall vote share remained low across both groups.
Age and Voting Behaviour
The NDC enjoyed strong support across all age categories in the Volta Region. The lowest level of Support for the NDC came from the youngest voters aged 18–24, with 78.7 per cent voting for the party.
Interestingly, this age group also showed the highest percentage (11.5 per cent) for alternative parties, suggesting a slightly more diverse political outlook among the youth.
Support for the NDC peaked among voters aged 36–40, with 95.5 per cent backing the party. The 25–30 age group gave the NDC 89.8 per cent support, while the 46–50 group was the most favourable to the NPP (14.7 per cent), although still heavily leaning toward the NDC.
The oldest voters (61+) gave the NDC 95.7 per cent, making them the second most loyal group after those aged 36–40. Overall, the NDC-dominated across all age groups, with a slight dip in the youngest cohort and modest gains for the NPP mong voters aged 46–50.
Religion and Voting Behaviour
Religious affiliation had minimal effect on voting behaviour in the Volta Region, as all religious groups. Groups overwhelmingly supported the NDC. Among Christians, the largest religious group, 89.4 percent voted for the NDC, while 8.5 per cent supported the NPP. Muslim voters showed even stronger backing for the NDC at 91.5 per cent, with the NPP receiving 8.4 per cent.
Traditional and other religious adherents were the most loyal to the NDC, with 93.2 per cent of them voting for the party. Only Christian voters showed any meaningful support for third-party candidates (2 per cent). The results indicate a uniformly strong preference for the NDC across religious lines, with only minor variation.
Ethnicity and Voting Behaviour
Ethnic identity in the Volta Region appears to strongly correlate with support for the NDC. The party received overwhelming support from voters in the Grusi, Mande, Gurma, and other minority ethnic groups.
Among the Ewe, the dominant ethnic group in the region, NDC support remained overwhelming as well.
The NPP performed best among Akan voters, receiving 63.6 per cent of their votes, making this the only ethnic group in the region where the party performed well. Guan voters supported the NDC (with only 6.3 per cent voting for other parties), while Mole-Dagomba voters also leaned heavily toward the NDC. In summary, the NDC retained a near-monopoly on ethnic support in the Volta Region, with the Akan group providing the only meaningful support to the NPP.
Educational Level and Voting Behaviour
The NDC maintained majority support across all educational levels. Voters with no education overwhelmingly backed the NDC (98.5 percent), while only 1.5 percent supported the NPP. Among those with primary and JHS/Middle School education, the NDC received over 92 per cent of the vote. As education levels rose, support for the NPP increased slightly.
Secondary/Vocational education holders gave the NDC 85.5 per cent and the NPP 11.6 per cent. Post-secondary education respondents gave 83.9 percent to the NDC and 14.4 percent to the NPP.
Among university graduates, the NDC received 86.7 percent, and the NPP received 13.3 percent.
Voters with postgraduate degrees showed the highest support for the NPP (25 percent), though the NDC still held a clear majority (75 percent). These results suggest a minor trend of increasing NPP support with higher education, but the NDC still remained dominant even among the most educated voters.
Profession and Voting Behaviour
The professional profile of respondents further reinforced the NDC’s dominance in the Volta Region.
Farmers and fishermen gave the party 91.9 per cent of their votes. Traders (90.9 per cent), teachers (86.5 per cent), artisans (90.5 per cent), and students/apprentices (86.9 per cent) all strongly favoured the NDC. Civil servants and individuals in “other professions” unanimously supported the NDC.
Public servants were the only group where the NPP showed some competitiveness, garnering 20.8 per cent compared to the NDC’s 79.2 per cent. Across professions, the NDC maintained a
commanding lead, with only modest inroads made by the NPP among public servants and private
sector workers.
Employment Status and Voting Behaviour
Employment status was another factor favouring the NDC. Among self-employed individuals in the formal sector, 87.5 percent supported the NDC and 12.5 percent supported the NPP. Informal self-employed voters—by far the largest segment—backed the NDC at 92.7 percent, with only 5.3 103 cent supporting the NPP.
Employed respondents gave 87.7 percent of their votes to the NDC, and 12.3 percent to the NPP. Among unemployed voters, 85 percent backed the NDC, 11.7 percent supported the NPP, and 3.3 percent voted for other parties. Retirees overwhelmingly supported the NDC (95.7 percent). These results reinforce the perception that economic precarity and informal labour correlate with high levels of support for the NDC, while formal employment status shows a slightly more balanced but still strongly NDC-leaning trend.
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