Ghana - Politics

The process towards restoration of multiparty democracy began in May 1991. The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government commissioned a report by the National Commission for Democracy, endorsed its recommendations for a multiparty system, and set up a 260-member consultative assembly to direct the change. A committee of constitutional experts was appointed to draft a new constitution for submission to this assembly.

In April 1992 the draft constitution was overwhelmingly approved in a referendum. Political associations were unbanned from 1992, and six opposition movements were subsequently granted legal recognition. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) was formed to contest the elections on behalf of the PNDC.

The November 1992 presidential election (witnessed by Commonwealth observers, and considered ‘overall free and fair’) returned Jerry Rawlings (with 58.3% of the vote). The parliamentary elections of December 1992 returned the NDC with 189 out of 200 seats. The NDC united with the National Convention Party (NCP) and the Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE) Party to form the Progressive Alliance. In January 1993 Rawlings was sworn in as president, and the Fourth Republic was inaugurated. In May 1995, the NCP left the coalition.

In the December 1996 elections, Rawlings was re-elected as president with 58% of the votes. Turnout was 75%. His party, the NDC, won 133 of the 200 seats. The opposition alliance of the pro-business New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the left-wing People’s Convention Party won 66 seats, just reaching the level at which they could successfully oppose constitutional changes (which need a two-thirds majority). The elections were seen as a step towards full multiparty democracy; the opposition had boycotted the 1992 parliamentary elections, but accepted defeat the second time round. Ghana thus acquired a significant legislative opposition for the first time in 15 years.

After Rawlings was chosen as ‘life chairman’ of the party in December 1998, the NDC suffered a serious split in its ranks with the formation by some of its founding members of the National Reform Party (NRP), which was registered in July 1999.

After 19 years at the helm, Rawlings was barred by the constitution from seeking another term of office in the December 2000 presidential election. For the first time in Ghana’s history there was a democratic transfer of power, after NDC candidate Vice-President John Atta Mills was defeated in the second round of the presidential contest by NPP leader, John Kufuor. The NPP also won the parliamentary elections held on the same day in December 2000 as the first round of the presidential election.

Kufuor won the December 2004 presidential election gaining an outright majority in the first round with 53.4% of the votes. His main rival, Atta Mills, received 43.7% and the turnout was 83%. In parliamentary elections on the same day the NPP took 128 seats, the NDC 94, People’s National Convention (PNC) four and Convention People’s Party (CPP) three. Kufuor promised to make reducing poverty his priority in his second term.

The parliamentary and presidential elections in December 2008 were very close. The NDC won the general election but just fell short of an overall majority; the NDC took 114 seats, NPP 107, PNC two, CPP one and independents four. In the second round of the presidential election, NDC’s Atta Mills narrowly beat NPP’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (50.2%:49.8%), reversing the first-round result of Akufo-Addo 49.1% and Atta Mills 47.9%. Commonwealth observers were present.