Politics of Ghana

Politics of Ghana takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Ghana is both head of state and head of government, and of a two party system. The seat of government is at Golden Jubilee House. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

The constitution that established the Fourth Republic provided a basic charter for republican democratic government. It declares Ghana to be a unitary republic with sovereignty residing in the Ghanaian people. Intended to prevent future coups, dictatorial government, and one-party states, it is designed to establish the concept of powersharing. The document reflects lessons learned from the abrogated constitutions of 1957, 1960,69, and 1979, and incorporates provisions and institutions drawn from British and American constitutional models. One controversial provision of the Constitution indemnifies members and appointees of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) from liability for any official act or omission during the years of PNDC rule. The Constitution calls for a system of checks and balances, with power shared between a president, a unicameral parliament, a council of state, and an independent judiciary.

Executive branch

Main office holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
President	Nana Akufo-Addo	New Patriotic Party	7 January 2017
Vice-President	Mahamudu Bawumia	New Patriotic Party	7 January 2017

Executive authority is established in the Office of the Presidency, together with his Council of State. The president is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. He also appoints the vice president. According to the Constitution, more than half of the presidentially appointed ministers of state must be appointed from among members of Parliament.

The outcome of the December 2012 elections, in which John Dramani Mahama was declared President by the Ghana Electoral Commission, was challenged by Nana Akufo-Addo, Mahmoud Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey at the Supreme Court of Ghana, which came out with the verdict that Mahama legally won the 2012 presidential election.

Legislative branch

Legislative functions are vested in Parliament, which consists of a unicameral 275-member body plus the Speaker. To become law, legislation must have the assent of the president, who has a qualified veto over all bills except those to which a vote of urgency is attached. The members are elected for a four-year term in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote. As it is predicted by Duverger's law, the voting system has encouraged Ghanaian politics into a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party. Elections have been held every four years since 1992. Presidential and parliamentary elections are held alongside each other, generally on 7 December.

Political parties and elections

Main articles: List of political parties in Ghana and Elections in Ghana

Presidential elections

Main article: 2016 Ghanaian general election

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Nana Akufo-Addo	New Patriotic Party	5,755,758	53.72
John Dramani Mahama	National Democratic Congress	4,771,188	44.53
Paa Kwesi Nduom	Progressive People's Party	106,092	0.99
Ivor Greenstreet	Convention People's Party	25,552	0.24
Edward Mahama	People's National Convention	22,214	0.21
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings	National Democratic Party	16,935	0.16
Jacob Osei Yeboah	Independent	15,911	0.15
Invalid/blank votes		167,349	–
Total		10,881,083	100
Registered voters/turnout		15,712,499	69.25
Source: Electoral Commission Ghana

Parliamentary elections

Main article: 2016 Ghanaian general election

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
New Patriotic Party	5,661,248	52.48	169	+46
National Democratic Congress	4,560,491	42.28	106	–42
Progressive People's Party	186,741	1.73	0	0
Convention People's Party	69,346	0.64	0	–1
People's National Convention	42,236	0.39	0	–1
National Democratic Party	19,450	0.18	0	0
Great Consolidated Popular Party	1,368	0.01	0	0
All People's Congress	2,527	0.02	0	New
United Front Party	896	0.01	0	0
Democratic People's Party	867	0.01	0	0
United Progressive Party	430	0.00	0	New
Independents	241,884	2.24	0	–3
Invalid/blank votes	111,137	–	–	–
Total	10,944,555	100	275	0
Registered voters/turnout	15,639,690	69.98	–	–
Source: Election Passport

Judicial branch

Main article: Judiciary of Ghana

Supreme Court of Ghana.

The structure and the power of the judiciary are independent of the two other branches of government. The Supreme Court of Ghana has broad powers of judicial review. It is authorized by the Constitution to rule on the constitutionality of any legislation or executive action at the request of any aggrieved citizen. The hierarchy of courts derives largely from British juridical forms. The courts have jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters. They include the Superior Courts of Judicature, established under the 1992 Constitution, and the Inferior Courts, established by Parliament. The Superior Courts are, from highest to lowest, the Supreme Court of Ghana, the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice, and the ten Regional Tribunals. The Inferior Courts, since the Courts Act 2002, include the Circuit Courts, the Magistrate Courts, and special courts such as the Juvenile Courts.[1] In 2007, Georgina Wood became the first ever female chief justice of the Ghanaian Supreme Court.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Ghana

Ghana is divided into sixteen regions: Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Oti Region, Western North Region, North East Region, Ahafo Region, Savannah Region, Bono East Region and Western Region.

International organization participation

Ghana is member of ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

See also

• Government of Ghana

References

1. "Ghanaian criminal court system". Association of Commonwealth Criminal Lawyers. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2011.

External links

• Global Integrity Report: Ghana has information on Ghana's anti-corruption efforts*Ghana Government at Curlie
• Latest Political News From Ghana