The end of an era : the Ghanaian elections of December 2000

In the presidential and legislative elections held in Ghana in December 2000 the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), which had been in power for eight years, was decisively beaten. After presenting and analysing the main trends in the results of the parliamentary and presidential polls, this article discusses some of the principal features of the electoral process and analyses the causes of the NDC's defeat and its significance in the context of the long-term development of multiparty politics in Ghana and African democratization generally. Bibliogr., notes, ref