Ghana

With a constitution that includes features of U.S. Presidential and British Westminster systems of government, the country has had eight successful elections since the re-introduction of multi-party elections in 1992, preceded by two decades of military rule. Elections are competitive and generally free and fair with multiple turnovers of power between the two dominant political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). However, two disputed presidential elections (2012 and 2020) had to be adjudicated by the Supreme Court.   

Ghana is a multi-ethnic country, dominated by the Akan ethnolinguistic group (47.5 per cent of the population), with significant minorities of the Mole-Dagbani (16.6 per cent), Ewe (13.9 per cent), Ga-Dangme (7.4 per cent), and Gurma (5.7 per cent) ethnic groups, among others (8.9 per cent).  Political parties have strong ethnic associations that predate the return to democracy. The NPP draws its core support from Akan ethnolinguistic enclaves in the Ashanti Regions and has roots in Akan-led political parties such as the erstwhile United Gold Coast Convention, National Liberation Movement, and Progress Party. The NDC was founded by the former junta-leader Jerry Rawlings (from the Ewe community) during the transition from military rule, and it continues to rely on the Ewes from the Volta Region and draws on heavy support from northern Ghana. Despite parties’ core ethnolinguistic bases, it takes cross-ethnic coalitions to win presidential elections, thereby making ethnic and regional balance crucial considerations in the formation of any government. Also, party politics is characterized by strong polarization reflected in ideological differences between the NPP (center right) and the NDC (center left), although the two parties are mostly indistinguishable in policies and programmes.  

There are two key areas to watch in the coming years.  First, the country’s low score in Absence of Corruption merits monitoring, especially as the Office of the Special Prosecutor established to prosecute specific cases of public and private sector corruption proceeds with its work. Second, addressing fundamental inequities in female representation in higher political office could impact Representative Government and amplify the voices of women in consolidating Ghana’s democracy. Similarly, the potential passing of the pending Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which criminalizes identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and all sexual identities that do not conform to the binary category of male and female, could impact Fundamental Rights performance.