Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, has expressed serious concerns about the alarming decline in public trust in Ghanaian institutions, particularly the Electoral Commission and the Judiciary.
This concern is backed by the latest Afrobarometer report from the Center for Democratic Development, which reveals a historic drop in public trust in Ghanaian institutions.
The report, launched on October 25 by CDD Ghana’s Director of Research, Dr. Edem Selormey, highlights citizens’ deep concerns over the integrity of state entities, including the Electoral Commission’s ability to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections.
Notably, there’s been a steep drop in citizens’ confidence across several democratic institutions since 2012, persisting despite changes in government.
In an interview with Selorm Adonoo on Channel One TV‘s “The Big Issue,” Cudjoe described the situation as depressing.
“It’s depressing to see 65% of Ghanaians say they don’t trust the courts, that’s depressing for the Judiciary. It is depressing to see that only 28% [17% dropped to 11%] of Ghanaians trust the Electoral Commission, that’s depressing, and that is not quite right.
He is calling on Ghanaians to rethink their perceptions of these institutions as the nation moves forward.
“I think that we need to change attitudes and mindsets, as we go along. The branding is good but the product is terrible. And I think that we need to ensure that we’re dealing in policy issues, issues that matter.”
Among key public institutions, the Ghana Armed Forces, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and non-governmental and civil society organisations are the most trusted, according to the Afrobarometer report.
It added that trust in key state institutions/officials witnessed marginal declines compared to 2022 but major declines since 2012.
The report said the police, the Presidency, tax officials, MPs, judges and magistrates are most widely perceived as corrupt
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