How Dumsor, Economic Conditions Led to Decline in Mahama Approval Rating
- President John Mahama's approval rating drops to 58.9%, reflecting growing public expectations
- 73.5% of approvers credit Mahama's economic management as key to their support
- Disapproval mainly stems from economic experiences and electricity supply issues
Most Ghanaians continue to approve of President John Mahama's performance, but public satisfaction has slipped, according to a nationwide poll by the Institute of Economic Affairs.
However, his approval dropped by almost 10%, per findings released on June 9.
The poll, conducted in May 2026 nationwide and covering over 1,000 respondents, puts Mahama's job approval rating at 58.9%, down from 68% recorded in December 2025.
28.4% of respondents disapprove of his performance, while 12.8% expressed no opinion.
However, the Institute of Economic Affairs said the more than 30 percentage point gap between approval and disapproval indicates that positive assessments of the President's performance remain well ahead of critical ones, even as the decline signals a public growing more expectant.
Role of dumsor, economy in Mahama approval
Among those who approve, the economy is the overwhelming reason. Nearly three in four approvers, standing at 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 findings reflect a period of notable macroeconomic improvement under the Mahama administration. Since January 2025, inflation has fallen from 23.5% to around 3.4%, the cedi has appreciated by 26% against major currencies, and the Bank of Ghana's policy rate has been cut from 27% to 14%. A
Among those who disapprove, the economy still tops the list at 30.9% though the institute said this does not necessarily reflect a rejection of the government's macroeconomic record.
The institute said it may instead point to the lived experience of Ghanaians for whom falling inflation and a stronger cedi have not yet fully translated into lower costs of living, more jobs, or higher household incomes.
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.
"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."
Source: YEN.com.gh
