Political scientist and lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has cautioned against conflating public opinion polls with performance assessments of Members of Parliament (MPs).
His comments follow a new survey by Global Info Analytics assessing the performance of MPs in the ninth Parliament — a poll that has reignited public debate over how legislators are evaluated.
Dr Asah-Asante acknowledged the value of opinion polling in research but stressed the need for clarity in methodology and interpretation of results.
“My position still remains that yes, I concede, and I know that when you’re looking for opinions, it’s opinions. Yes, it can also be part of research. But it doesn’t do away with what relevant questions [are asked],” he said on JoyNews’ Newsdesk on Tuesday.
He explained that performance assessments require more than public perceptions, noting that they must be grounded in structured tools that reflect the actual work MPs do in Parliament.
“If you are talking about opinion polling, it must be made distinct from performance appraisal. Once you say that’s performance, then people want to go into what goes into the details,” Dr Asah-Asante noted.
He added that the methodology used in such polls must be robust enough to ensure accurate analysis and produce meaningful insights that can guide both the public and policymakers.
“Yes, you may have your objective, but the public who are the ultimate consumers of that information must be able to assess how much premium to put on it,” he stressed.
The recent Global Info Analytics poll has sparked renewed discussion about whether public opinion alone provides a fair picture of MPs’ legislative and oversight performance.
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