The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) nationwide poll released today, Wednesday, June 10, has revealed that President John Mahama’s job approval rating has declined.
According to the poll conducted in May 2026 in all sixteen regions of Ghana and covering over 1,000 respondents, President Mahama’s job approval rating declined from 68% recorded in December 2025 to 58.9% in May.
The IEA, however, indicated that a more than 30 percentage point gap between approval and disapproval indicates positive assessments of the President’s performance.
“On the economy, nearly three in four approvers, 73.5%, credit the government’s handling of the economy, followed by road infrastructure at 16.0% and energy and electricity at 2.7%.
The poll indicated that the economy still tops the list at 30.9%, though the IEA cautions this does not necessarily reflect a rejection of the government’s macroeconomic record.
“Electricity supply was cited by 29.9% of disapprovers, a finding the IEA links directly to a temporary power supply constraint in May 2026 that brought frequent outages to homes and businesses across the country.
Corruption was raised by 19.1% of disapprovers, a signal, the IEA notes, that the government’s anti-corruption rhetoric has yet to fully convince a significant portion of the public”, reports stated.
The IEA further cited that Ghanaians’ expectations are rising. “The findings suggest that Ghanaians are broadly supportive of the President’s leadership but are expectant that the progress recorded at the macro level will increasingly be felt in their daily lives”.
Some netizens reacting to the news card shared by JOY FM stated, “How do u watch ur approval ratings nosedive & continue to keep the same non-performing folks in office for 18months?
Politicians always tout the Private sector as the engine of growth – do they know how that sector operates?
By performance reviews & competence
Shocked for JM”.
One X user added, “I agree… mainly because the likes of Gifty Oware and Adu Boahen have not been jailed…however, it doesn’t mean I will vote for Bawumia…forget”.
“I disagree with this figure of 58%; this seems cooked. The IEA now isn’t the credible IEA we used to hold in high esteem in years past because the institution has recently appointed politically partisan personnel like Prof Gyampo.
What better has Mahama done to get 58% approval ?” a netizen added.
A netizen added, “Mussa’s poll is being conducted in June when the power situation has improved significantly, so I won’t be surprised if it shows that approval ratings for the president haven’t changed since March (the last poll)”.
Meanwhile, data scientist Alfred Appiah, reacting to the JOY FM news card, asserted that the IEA poll underscores just how important it is to keep the lights on.
He detailed that the poll was conducted in May, when power outages were still a major public concern.
In his post, he wrote, “This IEA poll underscores just how important it is to keep the lights on. Conducted in May, when power outages were still a major public concern, the findings suggest that electricity supply was a significant factor among respondents who disapproved of the President’s performance.
It is a reminder that the power sector has a direct impact on public confidence and everyday life. Can’t play with that!”.
See the IEA report below:
This IEA poll underscores just how important it is to keep the lights on. Conducted in May, when power outages were still a major public concern, the findings suggest that electricity supply was a significant factor among respondents who disapproved of the President’s… https://t.co/OWHJ8jTcwv
— Alfred (@CallmeAlfredo) June 10, 2026
