Only 41% of Ghanaians feel safe from political intimidation — APL Governance and Trust Barometer 

A new Governance and Trust Barometer by policy think tank, the African Policy Lens (APL), has revealed that only 41 per cent of Ghanaians feel safe from political intimidation when there is a change in government.

The April 2026 survey, launched in Accra alongside a Ghana Wellbeing Tracker on Wednesday, May 6, sampled 3,698 respondents across all 16 regions using the 2024 voter database through a telephone poll.

Presenting the findings, the APL’s Director of Research and Administration, Dr. Hayford Mensah Ayerakwa, said the studies were designed to understand citizens’ lived realities, including governance and political safety.

He noted that despite Ghana’s democratic progress, perceptions of political intimidation remain significant, especially during political transitions.

"This is basically looking at whether or not people who don't belong to a particular political party can feel intimidated or harassed in everyday life. And the overall score is 41.5% which is not very good.

“This perception is that when government changes power, the likelihood of being harassed or intimidated is very high,” Dr. Mensah Ayerakwa said, citing the report.

He further noted that the weak score on political security"cuts across, if you look at it all over, none of the regions made up was able to make the 50% mark. And that is a concern that we have to be interested in."

Meanwhile, the overall Governance and Trust Index was 48.3 per cent, described by the study as fragile, reflecting limited public confidence in how governance outcomes are experienced.

“Overall governance index gives us 48.3, which is fragile governance and trust that we have to do something about,” he said during the presentation.

The report also showed that accountability and rule of law performed strongest at 69.7 per cent, while electoral confidence stood at 66.3 per cent, indicating relatively high trust in the country's electoral processes.

However, government communication was rated at 44.2 per cent, which according to the APL, suggest that citizens feel disconnected from official messaging.

Corruption perception remained a major concern, with a low score of 15.4 per cent, reinforcing public concerns about integrity in public institutions.

Dr. Ayerakwa said the findings highlight a widening trust gap between citizens and the state.

He stated that democratic gains must translate into lived experiences of safety, inclusion and accountability.