The campaign team of National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary aspirant Sidii Abubakar has rejected a poll attributed to pollster Musah Dankwah on the forthcoming Madina constituency parliamentary contest, insisting that the figures do not reflect the situation on the ground.
In a statement, the campaign disputed the reported 24.7 per cent support for Sidii Abubakar and questioned the figures attributed to fellow aspirant Razak Cissey, alleging that the poll understated its candidate’s popularity while overstating Cissey’s support.
“We in the Hon. Sidii Abubakar camp have studied the poll circulating on the Madina NDC parliamentary race and rejected its entire figures. The numbers simply do not reflect the ground,” the statement said.
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The campaign said it was not surprised by the poll’s assessment of incumbent Madina MP Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu but maintained that its own candidate enjoyed stronger support than the survey suggested.
“Hon. Sidii’s 24.7% has been pulled down and, in our estimated view, does not match his real standing across the constituency. His support is far ahead of what the poll suggests,” it added.
The Sidii Abubakar camp also questioned the 14.7 per cent support attributed to Razak Cissey, arguing that the figure did not correspond with his visibility across the constituency’s 15 sections.
According to the campaign, Cissey’s recognition was concentrated mainly in Madina West, a claim it cited to challenge the poll’s assessment of his constituency-wide support.
“Cissey is known in only one of them, Madina West. A candidate with that footprint cannot honestly poll 14.7% constituency-wide. This is why we hold, with the greatest conviction, that his figure is inflated,” the statement claimed.
The campaign also raised concerns about the poll’s neutrality, citing what it described as Dankwah’s public declaration of support for Cissey’s parliamentary ambition.
It alleged that the poll could influence perceptions among NDC delegates and voters by projecting Cissey as a stronger contender.
“Given that history, we see these polls as a scheme to keep projecting Cissey as part of efforts to shape public perceptions in his favour among delegates and voters,” the statement said.
It added: “A poll from an openly declared supporter cannot be treated as neutral.”
The campaign further challenged the relationship between the figures attributed to Cissey and incumbent MP Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu.
It argued that if Sosu’s reported 23.1 per cent support were accepted, Cissey’s figure should be closer to six per cent rather than 14.7 per cent.
“The gap shows how far the figures have been stretched,” the statement said.
Despite the controversy, the Sidii Abubakar campaign urged supporters to remain calm and committed to its constituency-level engagement ahead of the parliamentary contest.
It maintained that the disputed poll would neither weaken its campaign nor make the team complacent.
The campaign reaffirmed its commitment to what it described as a results-oriented agenda aimed at addressing Madina’s development challenges.