Explaining electoral violence in africas new democracies. The chairman interprets the electoral laws and declares the winner at the end of the election. Issues in ghana s electoral politics download issues in ghana s electoral politics ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. The judiciary through jce, cognizant of kenyans electoral history, and ahead of the preparations of the 2017 election petitions, organized a comparative study visit to ghana, south africa, mexico and india. In the light of this, it is worth examining electoral.
Ghanas framework of laws is largely built on the system inherited from the colonial period. For all the foregoing reasons we are driven to hold and we so hold that at. The president is elected for a fouryear term by the people. Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. This means that ghana has legally speaking, a good legal system.
The country is divided into ten administrative units or regions, each headed by a regional minister appointed. This paper assesses the impact of ethnic diversity and electoral rules in 74 economically developing democracies. Drafting electoral laws is a critical undertaking and should take care to use plain language where possible and avoid conflicting references, usually, major changes to electoral laws cannot be undertaken if the electoral process is about to begin. Statutes can also give powers to towns and cities to make written. Having firmly and solemnly resolve, to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under god, dedicated to the promotion of interafrican solidarity, world peace, international cooperation and understanding. Ghanas vaunted electoral process under stress carnegie. Fundamental human rights and freedoms general emergency powers protection of rights by the courts 6. On a true and proper interpretation of article 51 of the 1992 constitution, a constitutional instrument to demarcate the boundaries for both the national and local government elections comes into force only after the expiration of 21 sitting days after it has been laid before parliament and that c. It is hereby notified that the zimbabwe electoral commission, in terms of section 192 of the electoral act chapter 2. The chairman disciplines erring or disobedient staff and ensures the prosecution of anybody who committed electoral offences.
Electoral process act, 2016 zambia legal information institute. Media, elections and political violence in eastern africa. Expansion of ghanas nascent oil industry has boosted economic growth, but the fall in oil prices since 2015 reduced by half ghanas oil revenue. Article 94 of the 1992 constitution, a cornerstone of participatory democracy or a manacle on. The object of the visit was to learn and gain insights from the four countries and implement the. Service of writ on agent of principal outside ghana. Price an annenbergoxford occasional paper in communications policy research. Criminal provisions to deter violation of electoral rights 74 appendix 1. Political factors as in the research question and objective refer to any activity undertake by any political party in an election which lead to violence. Her research interests are in the areas of peace and security in international relations with a particular focus on the implications of global security. The losers are largely excluded from the political.
Ghana has a comprehensive set of electoral laws that meet international standards and are, in principle, accepted by all parties. Affairs from the university of ghana, an llm in international human rights law from the university of nottingham and a phd from the scuola superiore santana, pisa. Subject to the provisions of this article, a person shall not be qualified to be a member of parliament unless a he is a citizen of ghana, has attained the age of twentyone years and is a registered voter. The uk government has postponed the may 2020 elections due to covid19. It is therefore a very important report that all individuals and institutions committed to good governance, transparency, accountability, and credible elections and electoral processes in africa will find very useful. Dec 07, 2019 the basis for roman laws was the idea that the exact form not the intention of words or of actions produced legal consequences. The art of midwifing elections in africa africa renewal. It argued that the most viable option for ghana to. Get all the latest updates and breaking news of ghana in the online papers at news ghana. Here is some general information about you new host country the flag the coat of arms the national anthem maps data on ghana introduction geography climate people education history ghanas presidents government and political conditions economy foreign relations links the flag of ghana. The applicant again filed a motion to dismiss the writ and statement of. These regulations may be cited as the electoral voter registration regulations, 2017. The republic of ghana has one legal system parliament makes the laws, the executive government administers the laws, and the judiciary independently interprets and applies them. The parliament of ghana has 275 members, elected for a fouryear term in singleseat constituencies.
Contrary to past studies, majoritarian electoral systems heighten the tendency of ethnic diversity to reduce nationalization while proportional representation greatly reduces its impact. The electoral commission of ghana is the official body in ghana responsible for all public elections. We need to more than advocate, we need to more than urge, we have to file a case at ghanas supreme court to compel the electoral commission to do its job implement ropaa and grant the legal franchise to ghanaians living abroad to register and vote from where they live. Every citizen of ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to. The executive the president international relations. Towards a comparative framework nicole stremlau and monroe e. Laws of south africa legislation lesotho law leslii liberian law liberlii malawian law malawilii namibian law namiblii nigerian law nigerialii sierra leone law sierralii south african law saflii seychelles law seylii swaziland law swazilii tanzanian law tanzlii.
Enhanced judicial processes, with staff better equipped to deal quickly and effectively with election petitions judiciary 96 judges trained in use of new manual. Download pdf issues in ghana s electoral politics free. Cameroonweb en camerounweb fr mahama causes stir in kumasi. Gold, oil, and cocoa exports, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. Presidential and parliamentary elections conducted in 2016 were peaceful, and domestic and international observers assessed them to be transparent, inclusive, and credible.
Act 699 representation of the people amendment 2006 electoral commision of ghana electoral commission act 1993 establishment of electoral commision act laws of registration local governement elections laws political parties law politicals. European union election observation mission eu eom to ghana 2016 council decision 926298 pesc 157 cohom 6 guidelines eu policy on electoral observation code of conduct the following guidelines will apply to nationals of any country participating in eu observation. Codeo observers reported a number of incidents of biometric machine malfunctioning during the voting process. This is a guideline produced by the electoral commission of ghana that deals with obligations and code of conduct for an citizen observers, the deploying of observers and includes an observation checklist. Examples are the mode of campaigning in an election, the use of state resources abuse of incumbency especially by the party in power as against the electoral laws. The atto from econ 101 at ghanashyam hemalata institute of technology management. Electoral systems, ethnic diversity and party systems in. Production at jubilee, ghanas first commercial offshore oilfield, began in middecember 2010. Legal and policy frameworks regulating the behaviour of. The chairman oversees the work of the commission and the activities of the members.
Local government is enshrined in the constitution, as is decentralisation, and the main relevant legislation is the local government act 1993 act 462. What exactly constitutes electoral fraud varies from country to country. I describe the role played by statutory law and also the. Elections in ghana gives information on election and election results in ghana. Ghana is a constitutional republic with two spheres of government. Rhoda oseiafful is a research officer at the ghana centre for democratic development cdd ghana where she is part of the team that manages the cdds election projects including the activities of the coalition of domestic election observers codeo, for which cdd ghana serves as the secretariat. In so doing, it evaluates the functionality of kenyas electoral system by analysing the electoral process on the basis of its structure and general performance. Such a prohibition aims at preserving political stability and legal certainty. Ghana is a constitutional democracy with a strong presidency and a unicameral 275seat parliament.
Relatively few problems and lapses were encountered in the setup and opening of polls. In ghana, the emb initiated multiparty roundtables as early as 1994, with a particular view to achieving electoral reform. Way 55 present a serious electoral threat to incumbents, and elections are, for all intents and purposes, noncompetitive. General news in ghana, politics, health, crime and more. Electoral process act, 2016 zambia legal information. Ensure that our mandate is delivered and managed legally, transparently and fairly. Introduction to registering a political party electoral. Issues in ghanas electoral politics isbn 9782869786943. Other laws relevant to electoral security other categories of laws can also have relevance to electoral con. Observation mission to ghanas 2008 presidential and. The right to file complaints and seek protection 71 16. The plaintiff by his writ claims against the defendants as follows. Ghana integrity initiative gii is the local chapter of transparency international ti established in 1999, ghana integrity initiative gii is a nonpartisan, nonprofit. These laws are called regulations these are usually more detailed rules to implement the act, eg electoral regulations under the electoral act.
Pdf the electoral process in many of africas new democracies has been characterised by violence. In south africa, the law requires that the emb set up political party liaison committees at all levels of government, from the national to the local levels. The current commission was established by the electoral commission act act 451 of 1993. The commission shall by notice published in the gazette invite every person who is entitled to be registered as a voter to apply, during a period specified in the notice, to the registration officer for the registration of his name in the divisional register of the electoral area in which he ordinarily. Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections especially with a view to predicting future results. The ghana integrity initiative, ghana center for democratic development, ghana anticorruption coalition, citizens movement against corruption, and european union election observation mission noted concerns over the misuse of incumbency and unequal access granted to stateowned media during the campaign, although the incumbent still lost. Emphasis mine the constitutional provision at the heart of this discussion reads. I begin with a consideration of the introduction of colonial law in ghana, and its impact on the preexisting customary law system. Ec ghana frequently asked questions registration faq. It deploys some of the widely used indicators including. By so doing, we may be able to get round most, if not all the perennial and hydraheaded electoral offences in our electoral system for the benefit of successful elections in ghana. Legal and policy frameworks regulating the behaviour of politicians and political partiesghana. These topic pages provide a quick overview and easy access to all content that can be found on ace for any give topic of interest weather encyclopaedia files, electoral materials, comparative data, consolidated replies, case studies, or other.
Made up of seven members, its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 ghana constitution. News ghana latest updates and breaking news of ghana. Constitution, in the performance of its functions, the electoral commission, shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person, or authority. The following best practices can be considered in these legal areas. Additionally, countries with a history of electoral violence often experience a recurrence of such violence, as has been witnessed in kenya, nigeria, and zimbabwe. I discuss the nature and classification of laws in ghana as well as the concomitant choice of law problems. Click download or read online button to issues in ghana s electoral politics book pdf for free now. It is to this end that democraticallyminded institutions commit money, time and other forms of resources to assist young democracies to improve upon their electoral systems, of which the elimination of electoral offences is more or less a constant feature. Second, there is the apparent ineffectiveness of governance institutions to ensure that due process. Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election fraud, election manipulation or vote rigging, is illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates, or both. The ghana 2012 election petition started on december 28, 2012, when nana akufoaddo, flagbearer of the new patriotic party npp. The parliament of ghana has 275 members, elected for a.
Ghana elects on national level a head of state, the president, and a legislature. The common law system, as developed in the united kingdom, forms the basis of ghanaian jurisprudence. Emmanuel debrah is a senior lecturer at the department of political science, university of ghana. An act to provide for a comprehensive process for a general election. Ghana electoral support programme final evaluation report vi logframe output target impact weighting progress capability 20,000 pocketsized booklets printed 4. Mensah v the chairman electoral commission and another j1. Ghanas 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections 5 organizations to defusing tensions and ensuring a peaceful process, resulted in a calmer, more stable environment as election day neared. Is disqualified under national electoral laws from contesting for any parliamentary seat. Electoral commission of ghana detailed parliamentary election results date of election. Thus kazakhstani president nursultan nazarbayev was reelected in 1999 with 80 percent of the vote, and in uzbekistan, president islam karimov was reelected in 2000 with 92 percent of the vote. Ghana electoral commission says no to new voter list, voice of america, january 3. This is a particularly important moment in africas history. Ghanas firstpastthepost electoral system, with the extensive powers it accords to the president, is perhaps best termed a winner takes all system. Nigerian electoral act 2011 pdf printed and published by the federal government printer, abuja, nigeria.
The party further claim that the current electoral system in ghana makes it difficult to harness ideas of all. Republic of ghana kumasi declaration taking a stand against electoral violence, impunity and injustice in ghana i. Pam needs the total support of glas and friends of human rights. Ghana the world factbook central intelligence agency. Roman law served as the basis of law systems developed in a number of continental european. Table notes constitution 1992, articles 47, 50, 93the constitution 1996, article 47 tasks the electoral commission with determining the number of constituencies and article 93, specifies that there may not be less than 240 members and ci78 2012 laid down 275 members. Representation of the people right to vote electoral commission political parties 8. We, the presidential candidates of ghanas december 2012 elections, having participated in the first high level meeting convened by the national peace council and the manhyia palace, kumasi, in order to engage us on. Mensah v the chairman electoral commission and another j111. From 1992, when a new constitution came into force and established a new democratic framework for governing the, isbn 9782869786943 buy the issues in ghanas electoral politics ebook. There shall be in every region and district of ghana, a representative of the. Constitution of ghana constitution of ghana constitution of ghana constitution of ghana. Presidential and parliament election dates are determined by the ecg and published in constitutional instruments which also set the times of votingpresidential and parliament elections every 4 years are synchronous.
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