Votes targeted by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region for this year’s general elections are impossible to achieve, pollster Ben Ephson has predicted.

The NDC is aiming at one million votes, and a 48 per cent share of valid votes, as well as 10 parliamentary seats in the 2016 elections. Even though the flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, is hoping to record 80 per cent of votes, the chairman of the party in the region, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, is confident the NPP will emerge with 90 per cent of votes cast in the region, which remains the stronghold of the party.

In an interview with Emefa Apawu on Class91.3FM’s 505 news programme on Monday June 27, Mr Ephson explained that the NDC had improved in the region, where it is weakest, but argues that the target for this year is a long shot.

According to him, due to the improvement of the NDC over the years, the NPP will also not be able to get 80 per cent of the votes as it has projected.

“The NDC is strong in the three northern regions. 18.1 per cent of the population in the Ashanti Region is made up of persons from these three northern regions, so the NDC has been improving from 24 per cent in 2004 to 26.1 per cent in 2008 first round and 28.3 per cent [in the second]. If they get 10 per cent more to 38 per cent, the NDC would have done very well but to get 46 per cent is impossible,” he explained.

He maintained: “[In] the same way, it is impossible for the NPP to get the 80 per cent they want to get. If I say Nana cannot get his target of 80 per cent, and [Chairman] Wontumi says they will get 90 per cent, the election is not far away.”

The country is gearing up for elections to elect a president and legislators who will govern the country for the next four years.