Issues in Ghana's Electoral Politics edited by Kwame A. Ninsin.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ninsin, Kwame Akon, 1938- editor.

Codesria, issuing body.

Series:

CODESRIA book series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elections--Ghana.

Elections.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (221 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Manufacture:

Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 2017

Place of Publication:

Dakar : CODESRIA, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, [2016]

Summary:

Ghana attained independence in 1957. From 1992, when a new constitution came into force and established a new - democratic - framework for governing the country, elections have been organized every four years to choose the governing elites. The essays in this volume are about those elections because elections give meaning to the role of citizens in democratic governance. The chapters depart from the study of formal structures by which the electorate choose their representatives. They evaluate the institutional forms that representation take in the Ghanaian context, and study elections outside the specific institutional forms that according to democratic theory are necessary for arriving at the nature of the relationships that are formed between the voters and their representatives and the nature and quality of their contribution to the democratic process.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Contents

List of Tables, Figures and Boxes

Contributors

Preface and Acknowledgements

Introduction. Understanding Ghana's Electoral Politics

Notes

References

1. In Search of 'Honorable' Membership: Parliamentary Primaries and Candidate Selection in Ghana

Introduction

Primary Elections and Candidate Selection: An Overview

Ghana's Emergent Two-Party System

The Dynamics of Primary Elections

Parliamentary Primary Election System

Problematizing Primary Elections in Ghana: Democracy Promotion and Deficits

The Office of Member of Parliament in Ghana: A Coveted Trophy

Conclusion

2. Civic Election Observation and General Elections in Ghana under the Fourth Republic: Enhancing Government Legitimacy and the Democratization Process

Methodology

The Concepts of Civil Society, Government Legitimacy, Democratisation, Democracy and Election Observation

A Historical Sketch of Civil Society in Ghana

Civil Society Impact on General Elections and Democracy in Ghana since 1992

NEDEO and the 1996 General Elections

CODEO and the 2000 General Elections

CODEO and the 2004 General Elections

CODEO and the 2008 General Elections

Lessons Learned

Interview

3. The Regional Balance of Presidential Tickets in Ghanaian Elections: Analysis of the 2008 General Elections

The Office of Vice-President

Regional Balance in Ghanaian Elections

The Selection Drama: Who Gets the Nod?

Mills and the Trinity

NPP's Selection Quagmire

Ethno-Clientelist Politics in the Northern Region: Counting the 2008 Votes

Findings and Conclusion

4. Manifestos and Agenda Setting in Ghanaian Elections

Agenda-setting Defined.

Understanding the Ghanaian Context

Elections and Manifestos in Ghana's Politics

The Constitutional and Institutional Context of Political Party Manifestos in the Fourth Republic

Ideological Context

Comparing NDC and NPP Manifestos

Interests of Societal Actors

Influence of Manifestos on the Electorate

Realizing Manifesto Objectives/Targets

Authenticity of Manifestos

5. Elections and Representation in Ghana's Democracy

Elections and Elite Interest

Political Power and the Vote

Democracy and the Poor

Conclusion: A Vote for Democracy?

6. Impact of Democratic Political Transition on the Economy of Ghana

Economic Theoretical Framework

Macro-economic Impacts of Democratic Transitions

Microeconomic Impacts of Democratic Transition

Summary of Winners and Losers from Democratic Political Transition

Acknowledgments

Note

7. Political Transitions, Electoral Mobilization, and State Institutions

Transition Politics: Politics Without Rules

Electoral Mobilization

State Patrimony and Endless Electoral Mobilization

Transition Politics and State Institutions

8. Democracy without Development: The Perils of Plutocracy in Ghana

African Democracy in the World Context: The Ghana Case

The Meaning of Elections in a Democracy

Money Matters: Poverty, Politics and Plutocracy

Eating From the Same Bowl and the Politics of Plutocracy

Persistent Problem of Ghanaian Democracy

A Rising Plutocracy and the New Oil Economy

The Nature and Persistence of Corruption

Conclusion - Ghana and What President Obama Said

Websites

Newspapers and Magazines.

9. Ghana's 2008 Elections, the Constitution and the Unexpected: Lessons for the Future

Implication of Aspects of the 1992 Constitution Provisions on Elections

The Timing of Elections

Voter Registration - Right to Be Registered

Biometric Registration

E-voting

Transition from One Administration to Another

Possibility of a Vacuum in the Office of President

The Doctrine of Necessity

Importance of a Vibrant and Independent Judiciary

Cases

Constitutions and Legislation

Index

Back cover.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9782869787254

2869787251

OCLC:

988764765