Political Institutions

Political Parties and Political Participation in Ghana

A Study on behalf of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Accra/Ghana – Berlin/Germany www.kas.de/ghana · www.kas.de

by Kwame A. Ninsin Professor of Political Science University of Ghana, Legon - Accra

Email: kaninsin@africaonline.com.gh

Study on Political Parties and Political Participation in Ghana Prof. Kwame A. Ninsin

Table of Contents

Page

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Historical Development of Political Parties Political and Party Systems Political Parties and Parliament Political Parties and the Electoral System Legal Regulation and Political Parties Political Parties: Membership Political Parties: Structure, Internal Organization and Decision-Making Political Party Funding

3 3 6 8 10 11 14 17

Table 1: Political Parties Contesting Parliamentary elections: 1996 – 2004 Table 2: Political Parties contesting the Presidential elections: 1996 – 2004 Notes

5 5 19

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Study on Political Parties and Political Participation in Ghana Prof. Kwame A. Ninsin

1.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Political parties became important as instruments in Ghana’s democratic practice as early as the 1950s when the country was in transition from colonial rule to an independent sovereign nation-state. As many as 8 political parties emerged between 1954 and 1957 to participate in the struggle for self-determination against British colonial rule. Between 1969 and 1972 when the country freed itself from the first military regime, between 5 and 12 political parties were formed to join hands in the agitation to restore democratic rule in the country. In 1979 when the country had to reclaim her government from the military and place it on a democratic basis there was an explosion of political parties: 11 political parties mushroomed; by 1981 the scramble to form political parties had simmered down reducing the number to 6 that existed at various levels of engagement in the political process until...