Elections in Ghana
Encyclopedia
Elections in Ghana gives information on election
and election results in Ghana
.
Ghana elects on national level a head of state
, the president
, and a legislature
. The president is elected for a four year term by the people. The Parliament of Ghana
has 230 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constituencies.
The presidential election is won by 50% plus one vote whilse the parliamentary elections is won by simple majority,and, as 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.
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
and election results in Ghana
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 multi-party system. The seat of government is at Golden Jubilee House. Executive power is exercised by the...
.
Ghana elects on national level a head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
, the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, and a legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. The president is elected for a four year term by the people. The Parliament of Ghana
Parliament of Ghana
The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Ghanaian government.-History:Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony. The body, called the Legislative Council, was purely advisory as the Governor exercised all legislative and executive...
has 230 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constituencies.
The presidential election is won by 50% plus one vote whilse the parliamentary elections is won by simple majority,and, as is predicted by Duverger's law
Duverger's law
In political science, Duverger's law is a principle which asserts that a plurality rule election system tends to favor a two-party system. This is one of two hypotheses proposed by Duverger, the second stating that “the double ballot majority system and proportional representation tend to...
, the voting system
Voting system
A voting system or electoral system is a method by which voters make a choice between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum....
has encouraged Ghanaian politics into a two-party system
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
, which means that there are two dominant political parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
, 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.
Presidential
- Ghanaian presidential election, 2004Ghanaian presidential election, 2004The Ghanaian presidential election was held in the Republic of Ghana in West Africa on 7 December 2004. Parliamentary elections were held on the same day.There were four candidates:*George Aggudey...
- Ghanaian presidential election, 1960Ghanaian presidential election, 1960Presidential elections were held for the first time in Ghana on 27 April 1960. The elections were held alongside a referendum on creating an executive presidency...