1. Introduction
2. Election results
3. Elections
4. Political Parties, Political Actors
5. Political Change, Democratization since 1992
6. Ghana’s Constitution
7. Selected Web Resources

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Introduction

Ghana has generally been seen as a positive example of democracy in Africa over the past 16 years. A referendum on a new constitution was held in April 1992. One of the main issues was the reintroduction of multiparty politics. On 18 May 1992, the ban on party politics was lifted and multiparty elections were held in December of that year. The new Constitution entered into force on 7 January 1993, founding the Fourth Republic. The elections were won by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and in January 1993, Jerry Rawlings was inaugurated as president. Rawlings was re-elected with 57 percent of the popular vote in 1996. His term of office ended in January 2001.

The 2000 presidential elections were won in the second round by the opposition New Patriotic Party candidate, John Kufuor. These were the first elections held in Ghana that led to change of government through the ballot box. Kufuor was re-elected with 52.45 percent of the votes in 2004. In the 2004 parliamentary elections, the NPP won 128 out of 230 seats; the NDC 94 seats. The 2004 elections were notable for their high rate of voter participation, officially recorded at 85.1 percent. They were conducted without violence and widely judged as free and fair.

The next parliamentary and presidential elections will be held on 7 December 2008. Eight presidential candidates have been registered by the Electoral Commission of Ghana, including former Vice-President John Atta-Mills, who unsuccessfully ran as NDC presidential candidate in 2000 and 2004, and former Foreign Minister Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the ruling NPP. There is a strong two-party system in Ghana and smaller parties tend to receive few votes. A survey conducted in April by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) forecast a slim first-round victory for the opposition NDC. A poll from October 2008 saw the NPP's Akufo-Addo leading with 50.5 percent to the NDC's Atta-Mills with 35 percent.

The European Commission will deploy an EU Election Observation Mission for Ghana’s 2008 elections. The EOM is seen as a complement to the EU’s cooperation policy with Ghana which focuses, amongst others, on supporting good governance.

Election results

A run-off was required after no candidate in the first round on December 7 managed to win more than 50% of the votes. In the second round on December 28 the NDC candidate Atta-Mills beat the ruling party’s Akufo-Addo in a hotly contested poll by a margin of less than 0.5% of the votes. John Atta-Mills was sworn in as Ghana’s new president on 7 January 2009.

Elections

'Change for a better Ghana': party competition, institutionalization and alternation in Ghana's 2008 elections / Lindsay Whitfield
In: African Affairs: (2009), vol. 108, no. 433, p. 621-641 : tab.

The Ghanaian election of 2008 / Bob Kelly
In: Review of African Political Economy: (2009), vol. 36, no. 121, p. 441-450 : tab.

Democracy, elections, election monitoring and peace-building in West Africa / Adelaja Odukoya
In: African journal of international affairs: (2007), vol. 10, no. 1/2, p. 147-160

Ideology, regionalism, self-interest and tradition: an investigation into contemporary politics in northern Ghana / Bob Kelly & R. B. Bening
In: Africa : journal of the International African Institute: (2007), vol. 77, no. 2, p. 180-206 : krt
 

Reconstructing the nation in Africa : the politics of nationalism in Ghana / Michael Amoah. - London [etc.] : Tauris Academic Studies, 2007. - (International library of African studies ; 19)

The elephant, umbrella, and quarrelling cocks: disaggregating partisanship in Ghana's Fourth Republic / Kevin S. Fridy
In: African affairs: (2007), vol. 106, no. 423, p. 281-305 : krt., tab

Ghana's political parties : how ethno/regional variations sustain the national two-party system / Minion K. C. Morrison & Jae Woo Hong
In: The journal of modern African studies: (2006), vol. 44, no. 4, p. 623-647 : tab

Exploring voter alignments in Africa: core and swing voters in Ghana / Staffan I. Lindberg & Minion K. C. Morrison
In: The journal of modern African studies: (2005), vol. 43, no. 4, p. 565-586 : tab

Les élections ghanéennes de 2004: anatomie d'un système bipartite / Paul Nugent
In: Politique africaine: (2005), no. 97, p. 133-147 : tab

The 2004 elections in northern Ghana / Bob Kelly
In: Review of African political economy: (2005), vol. 32, no. 104/105, p. 455-461

The politics of elections : opposition and incumbency in Ghana's 2000 elections / Emmanuel Debrah
In: Africa insight: (2004), vol. 34, no. 2/3, p. 3-15 : foto, krt

Nationalism in Africa: Ghana's presidential elections / Michael Amoah
In: Review of African political economy: (2003), vol. 30, no. 95, p. 149-156 : tab

Consolidating democracy? : the structural underpinnings of Ghana's 2000 elections / Daniel A. Smith
In: The journal of modern African studies: (2002), vol. 40, no. 4, p. 621-650 : tab

Media matters: evaluating the role of the media in Ghana's 2000 elections / Jonathan Temin & Daniel A. Smith
In: African affairs: (2002), vol. 101, no. 405, p. 585-605

The end of an era : the Ghanaian elections of December 2000 / Klaas van Walraven
In: Journal of contemporary African studies: (2002), vol. 20, no. 2, p. 183-202 : tab
 

Deepening democracy in Ghana : politics of the 2000 elections / Joseph R. A. Ayee (ed.). - Legon : Freedom Publications, 2001

Ethnicity and recent democratic experiments in Africa / Cyril K. Daddieh & Jo Ellen Fair (ed.). - New Brunswick, NJ : African Studies Association, 2001. - (African issues ; vol. 29, no. 1/2 (2001))

Reflection on the activities and contributions of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) to the success of Ghana's 2000 elections : lessons for other African countries / E. Kojo Sakyi & Franklin Oduro
In: Journal of African elections: (2001), vol. 1, no. 2, p. 55-68

Reflections on Ghana's recent elections / Audrey Gadzekpo
In: Review of African political economy: (2001), vol. 28, no. 88, p. 267-273

The Ghana 2000 elections: voter choice and electoral decisions / Felix K. G. Anebo
In: African journal of political science: (2001), vol. 6, no. 1, p. 69-88 : tab

The things that money can buy : chieftaincy, the media and the 1996 elections in Hohoe-North constituency / Paul Nugent
In: Ghana studies: (2001), vol. 4, p. 85-106 : tab

Ghana: the challenges of consolidating democracy / E. Gyimah-Boadi
In: State, conflict, and democracy in Africa / ed. by Richard Joseph. - Boulder, Col. [etc.] : Lynne Rienner Publishers: (1999), p. 409-427 : tab

Report on workshop on legal and institutional framework for district level elections : Manet Paradise - Ada, 18th-20th June, 1999 / Electoral Commission of Ghana; Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (Ghana); Friedrich Ebert Foundation. - [S.l.] : Electoral Commission [etc.], 1999

Elections and conflict management in Africa / Timothy D. Sisk & Andrew Reynolds (ed.). - Washington, DC : United States Institute of Peace Press, 1998

Some observations on the elections and transition in Ghana : 1991-1996 / Kwamina Panford. - Boston : African Studies Center, Boston University, 1998. - (Working papers in African Studies ; 216)
 

The flight-lieutenant rides (to power) again : national delusions, local fixations and the 1996 Ghanaian elections / Paul Nugent. - Edinburgh : Centre of African Studies, Edinburgh University, 1998. - (Occasional papers, ISSN 1363-0342 ; 76)

The Ghanaian elections of 1996: towards the consolidation of democracy? / Richard Jeffries
In: African affairs: (1998), vol. 97, no. 387, p. 189-208 : tab

Understanding the rural-urban voting patterns in the 1992 Ghanaian presidential election : a closer look at the distributional impact of Ghana's structural adjustment programme / Mahamudu Bawumia
In: The journal of modern African studies: (1998), vol. 36, no. 1, p. 47-70 : tab

Beyond the transparent ballot box : reading the wave of democratisation and the significance of the 1996 elections in Ghana / Anthony Kwesi Aubynn. - Helsinki : Institute of Development Studies, University of Helsinki, 1997. - (Working papers, ISSN 1238-898X ; 5/97)

Ghana : les aléas d'un modèle / Céline Thiriot
In: L'Afrique politique: (1997), p. 229-254

Ghana: "l'effet Rawlings" / Martin Verlet
In: Afrique contemporaine: (1997), no. 182, p. 32-46
 

Elections in Ghana 1996. Part I / John Larvie & Kwasi Afriyie Badu. - Accra : Electoral Commission of Ghana [etc.], 1996

Ghana's return to constitutional rule / Joseph R. A. Ayee
In: Africa insight: (1996), vol. 26, no. 2, p. 120-129 ; foto's, krt., tab

Big men, small boys and politics in Ghana : power, ideology and the burden of history, 1982-1994 / Paul Nugent. - London [etc.] : Pinter, 1995

The Ghanaian elections of 1992 - a dissenting view / Mike Oquaye
In: African affairs: (1995), vol. 94, no. 375, p. 259-275 : tab

1992 parliamentary nominations all regions breakdown. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1993

The flight-lieutenant and the professor : the road to Ghana's Fourth Republic (including election statistics) / Paul Nugent. - Edinburgh : University of Edinburgh, Centre of African Studies, 1993. - (Occasional papers, ISSN 1363-0342 ; no. 43)

The Ghanaian elections of 1992 / Richard Jeffries & Clare Thomas
In: African affairs: (1993), vol. 92, no. 368, p. 331-366 : tab

A guide to the voter / Interim National Electoral Commission. - [S.l. : Interim National Electoral Commission], 1992

Elections '92 / Ben Ephson (ed.). - [S.l. : s.n.], 1992

Presidential elections law, 1992. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1992

Presidential election - Ghana 3.11.92 : national results. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1992

Public elections (parliament) regulations, 1992. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1992

The stolen verdict : Ghana November 1992 presidential election / New Patriotic Party, Accra. - Accra : New Patriotic Party, 1992

Political Parties, Political Actors

Do African parties contribute to democracy? : some findings from Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria / Sebastian Elischer
In: Afrika Spectrum: (2008), Jg. 43, H. 2, p. 175-201 : tab.

Proposed draft Political Parties Bill, 2008. - [Accra] : IEA/NIMD Ghana Political Parties Programme, 2008

Votes, money and violence : political parties and elections in sub-Saharan Africa / Matthias Basedau, Gero Erdmann, & Andreas Mehler (ed.). - Uppsala [etc.] : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet [etc.], 2007
 

Between faith and history : a biography of J.A. Kufuor / Ivor Agyeman-Duah. - Oxfordshire : Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2006

Know your DCEs/PMs/ Kojo T. Vieta. - Accra : Flagbearers Publishers, 2006

Partis politiques d'Afrique: retours sur un objet délaissé / Mamoudou Gazibo
In: Politique africaine: (2006), no. 104, p. 5-102 : tab

Religion and the politics of Fourth Republican elections in Ghana (1992, 1996) / Elom Dovlo
In: The Ghana bulletin of theology: (2006), n.s., vol. 1, no. 1, p. 3-19

Designing West Africa : prelude to 21st-century calamity / Peter Schwab. - New York, NY [etc.] : Palgrave Macmillan, 2004

Between faith and history : a biography of J.A. Kufuor / Ivor Agyeman-Duah. - Trenton, NJ [etc.] : Africa World [etc.], 2003

Populist reform coalitions in sub-Saharan Africa : Ghana's triple alliance / Jay Oelbaum
In: Canadian journal of African studies: (2002), vol. 36, no. 2, p. 281-328 : tab

Winners, losers and also rans: money, moral authority and voting patterns in the Ghana 2000 election / Paul Nugent
In: African affairs: (2001), vol. 100, no. 400, p. 405-428 : krt., tab

Le Ghana de J.J. Rawlings : restauration de l'État et renaissance du politique / Comi M. Toulabor. - Paris : Karthala, 2000. - (Hommes et sociétés, ISSN 0290-6600)

Living in the past: urban, rural and ethnic themes in the 1992 and 1996 elections in Ghana / Paul Nugent
In: The journal of modern African studies: (1999), vol. 37, no. 2, p. 287-319 : krt., tab

The C.P.P. and the Asafo Besuon : why unlike poles did not attract / Kwesi Jonah
In: Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana: (1999), n.s., no. 3, p. 47-56

The President, his Vice and the Constitution of Ghana : implications of the Rawlings-Arkaah conflagration / F. Nii Nuertey Botchway
In: East African journal of peace & human rights: (1998), vol. 4, no. 1, p. 90-101
 

Le Ghana sous Rawlings: ajustement et pouvoir / Martin Verlet
In: Politique africaine: (1996), no. 64, p. 89-100

PPDD speaks : selected statements on the national and international situation issued by the National Co-ordinating Committee (NCC) of the Popular Party for Democracy and Development (PPDD) / Popular Party for Democracy and Development (PPDD). - [S.l.] : Popular Party for Democracy and Development (PPDD), 1994

Peace, a pre-requisite for development : selected speeches / Jerry John Rawlings. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1993
 

Political parties and democracy in Ghana's Fourth Republic : proceedings of a seminar organized by the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon on 2nd and 3rd July, 1992 / Kwame A. Ninsin & Francis K. Drah (ed.). - Accra : Woeli Publishing Services, 1993

Reform of the electoral system Ghana : proposals of the New Patriotic Party / New Patriotic Party. - [S.l. : New Patriotic Party], 1993

A guide to political parties / Interim National Electoral Commission. - [S.l. : Interim National Electoral Commission], 1992

Ghana and the Rawlings factor / Kevin Shillington. - London [etc.] : MacMillan, 1992

Political parties law, 1992 : arrangement of sections / Provisional National Defence Council. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1992

Political Change, Democratization since 1992

Democracy and stability in West Africa : the Ghanaian experience/ Kwame Boafo-Arthur. - Uppsala : Uppsala University, Dept. of Peace and Conflict Research in collab. with the Nordic Africa Institute, 2008. - (Claude Ake memorial paper series (CAMP), ISSN 1654-7489 ; no. 4)

Democracy and conflict management in Africa : is Ghana a model or a paradox? / Jasper Ayelazuno
In: African journal of international affairs: (2007), vol. 10, no. 1/2, p. 13-36
 

Ghana : one decade of the liberal State / Kwame Boafo-Arthur (ed.). - Dakar : Codesria Books, 2007. - (Africa in the new millennium)

Ghana and democratic development in Africa : back to the future / Richard Joseph. - Accra : Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, 2007. - (Kronti ne akwamu series ; no. 3, jubilee edition)

Trade unions and the coming of democracy in Africa / Jon Kraus (ed.). - New York : Palgrave, 2007

Democratic reform in Africa : its impact on governance & poverty alleviation / Muna Ndulo (ed.). - Oxford : James Currey, 2006

Political involvement in a democratizing neopatrimonial polity : the case of Ghana, 1992-2000 / Thomas Maxwell Aidoo
In: Research review: (2006), n.s., vol. 22, no. 2, p. 13-36 : tab
 

Critical perspectives on politics and socio-economic development in Ghana / Wisdom J. Tettey, Korbla P. Puplampu, & Bruce J. Berman (ed.). - Leiden [etc.] : Brill, 2003. - (African social studies series, ISSN 1568-1203 ; vol. 6)

Democracy, security & poverty in Ghana : a mid-term review of the Kufuor administration / J. 'Kayode Fayemi, Thomas Jaye & Zaya Yeebo
In: Democracy & development: (2003), vol. 3, no. 2, p. 51-84

Democratic transition in Anglophone West Africa / Jibrin Ibrahim. - Dakar : Codesria, 2003. - (Monograph series, ISSN 0850-2633)

Democratizing the making of subsidiary legislation in Ghana : report of a workshop on "Democratizing the Making of Subsidiary Legislation in Ghana", March 28-30, 2003. - Accra : Ghana Center for Democratic Development, 2003. - (Workshop proceedings)

Better governance and public policy : capacity building for democratic renewal in Africa / Dele Olowu & Soumana Sako (ed.). - Bloomfield, CT : Kumarian Press, 2002

'Limited' democracy in Ghana and Uganda : what is most important to international actors: stability or political freedom? / Jeff Haynes
In: Journal of contemporary African studies: (2001), vol. 19, no. 2, p. 183-204 : tab

Constituencies for reform in Ghana / Michael Bratton, Peter Lewis & E. Gyimah-Boadi
In: The journal of modern African studies: (2001), vol. 39, no. 2, p. 231-259 : tab

Der Weg Ghanas in die Demokratie / Regina Wegemund
In: Internationales Afrika-Forum: (2001), Jg. 37, Quart. 1, p. 57-62

Gender, development, and democratization in Africa / Lisa Aubrey
In: A decade of democracy in Africa: (2001), p. 87-111

Special issue on West Africa / Boubacar N'Diaye (ed.). - DeKalb, Ill. : Northern Illinois University, 2000. - (Journal of political and military sociology, ISSN 0047-2697 ; vol. 28, no. 2 (Winter 2000))

Trade unions and democratisation in Africa / Piet Konings
In: Trajectoires de libération en Afrique contemporaine : hommage à Robert Buijtenhuijs: (cop. 2000), p. 167-183

Ghana: structural adjustment, democratization, and the politics of continuity / Kwame Boafo-Arthur
In: African studies review: (1999), vol. 42, no. 2, p. 41-72

Towards sustainable development in Africa : extra-territorial contributions to democracy, constitutional rule, and economic growth in Ghana / Dan B. MacKwartin
In: Sustainable development in Africa : prospects for the 21st century / Valentine Udoh James, ed. - San Francisco, Cal. [etc.] : International Scholars Publications: (1999), p. 137-147

Ghana, transition to democracy / Kwame A. Ninsin (ed.). - Dakar : CODESRIA, 1998. - (CODESRIA book series)

Civilianizing military rule: conditions and processes of political transmutation in Ghana and Nigeria / Yomi Durotoye & Robert J. Griffiths
In: African studies review: (1997), vol. 40, no. 3, p. 133-160

Fighting for survival : the state of grass-root civil society organizations in 'post-transition' Ghana / Kwame Boafo-Arthur
In: Ufahamu: (1997), vol. 25, no. 1, p. 3-35 : tab

Reforming dysfunctional institutions through democratisation? : reflections on Ghana / Richard Sandbrook & Jay Oelbaum
In: The journal of modern African studies: (1997), vol. 35, no. 4, p. 603-646
 

Ghana's political transition : 1990-1993 : selected documents / Kwame A. Ninsin. - Accra : Freedom Publications, 1996

Government and the people : outlook for democracy in Ghana / E. A. Boateng. - Accra : Institute of Economic Affairs, 1996

Democratic transition and electoral systems in Africa : a preliminary comparison of Ghana, Mali, and Niger / Shaheen Mozaffar. - Boston : Boston University, African Studies Center, 1995. - (Working papers in African Studies; 202)

Ghana's 'adjusted' democracy / Daniel Green
In: Review of African political economy: (1995), vol. 22, no. 66, p. 577-585

Four years of the Ghana District Assemblies in operation : decentralization, democratization and administrative performance / Richard C. Crook
In: Public administration and development: (1994), vol. 14, no. 4, p. 339-364 : tab

Ghana: nouvelles Églises et processus de démocratisation / Comi M. Toulabor
In: L'Afrique politique: (1994), p. 131-142

Mission and democracy in Africa : the role of the Church / Robert K. Aboagye-Mensah. - Accra : Asempa Publishers, 1994

The dilemmas of explaining political upheaval: Ghana in comparative perspective / Jeffrey Herbst
In: Economic change and political liberalization in sub-Saharan Africa / ed. by Jennifer A. Widner. - Baltimore, Md. [etc.] : Johns Hopkins University Press: (cop. 1994), p. 182-198 : tab

Trade unions and democratisation : a comparative study of Zambia and Ghana / Emmanuel Obliteifio Akwetey. - Stockholm : University of Stockholm, Dept. of Political Science, 1994. - (Stockholm studies in politics, ISSN 0346-6620 ; 50)
 

Making democracy work in the Fourth Republic / Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Accra. - Accra : Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1993

Some problems in Ghana's transition to democratic governance / Kwame A. Ninsin
In: Africa development: (1993), vol. 18, no. 2, p. 5-22

Democracy and Africa - a view from the village / M. Owusu
In: The journal of modern African studies: (1992), vol. 30, no. 3, p. 369-396

One-party State, no-party State, multi-party State? : 35 years of democracy, authoritarianism and development in Ghana / J. Haynes
In: The journal of communist studies: (1992), vol. 8, no. 2, p. 41-62 : tab

Political reflections on the motherland / Ivor Agyeman-Duah (ed.). - Kumasi : Ivor Agyeman-Duah, 1992

Ghana’s Constitution

Chieftaincy jurisdiction and the muddle of constitutional interpretation in Ghana / A. K. P. Kludze
In: Journal of African law: (1998), vol. 42, no. 1, p. 37-63

The Ghanaian constitutionalism of liberty / Bertrand de Rossanet
In: The review: (1998), no. 60, p. 47-55
 

The Ghanaian constitution : an introduction / Kwadwo Afari-Gyan. - [Accra] : Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 1998

The impact of the 1992 Constitution on family rights in Ghana / W. C. E. Daniels
In: Journal of African law: (1996), vol. 40, no. 2, p. 183-193

Circumventing Ghana's constitution / Joseph R. A. Ayee
In: Africa insight: (1994), vol. 24, no. 3, p. 200-205

Decentralization under Ghana's Fourth Republican Constitution / J. R. A. Ayee
In: Verfassung und Recht in Übersee: (1992), Jg. 25, Quart. 4, p. 394-406

Selected web resources

The ASC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Elections
African Elections Database, Elections in Ghana
Created in October 2004, the purpose of the African Elections Database is to provide a comprehensive archive of past and present election results for the 48 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Maintained by Albert C. Nunley.
 

Electoral Commission of Ghana
Info on Ghana’s electoral system, political parties, registration & voting, election results (2004, 2000), and laws & regulations. News on 2008 elections.

Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization based in Ghana. Website contains, amongst others, reports on the 2004 elections.

Ghana Elections 2008
Election pages of Think Ghana.

Ghana Elections 2008
Ghana Elections 2008 blog, including links to election-related sites.
 

Ghana Presidential & Parliamentary Elections 2008
Election pages of the GhanaHomepage, conceived in 1992 by Francis Akoto, a Ghanaian living in Finland., and quickly expanded to a comprehensive resource about Ghana.

Ghana Election Night 2008, Amsterdam
Schuttelaar & Partners, NCDO and SIGN (the Dutch foundation to support the GSFP) are hosting a debate concerning the results of the Ghana 2008 elections on Monday evening 8th December.

Political parties

New Patriotic Party, NPP

National Democratic Congress, NDC

Convention People’s Party, CPP

Democratic Freedom Party, DFP

Ghana National Party, GNP

Kwesi Amoafo-Yeboah (independent presidential candidate)

Constitution
Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992
Text of the constitution.