Politics of Ghana

Political organization

Politics of Ghana

File:Coat of arms of Ghana.svg
Constitution

Executive

* President (list)

Nana Akufo-Addo
* Vice President

Mahamudu Bawumia
* Ministers
* Council of State

Legislative

* Speaker of the Parliament

Alban Sumana Bagbin
* Parliament

Members of Parliament

Judiciary

* Supreme Court

Chief Justice: Kwasi Anin-Yeboah
* Human rights

Elections

* Constituencies
* Political parties

Politicians
* Electoral Commission
* Recent elections

* General: 2012
* 2016
* 2020

Administrative divisions

* Regions
* Districts

Foreign relations

* Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Minister: Shirley Ayorkor Botchway

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in Ghana

* * *

* Nationality law
* Passport
* Visa requirements
* Visa policy

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

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 2 party system. The seat of government is at Golden Jubilee House. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the government and Parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.[1]

The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Ghana a "flawed democracy" in 2022.[2][needs update]

## Contents

* 1 Legislative
* 2 Executive
* 3 Judicial
* 4 History
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Legislative[edit | edit source]

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.[3]

## Executive[edit | edit source]

Nana Akufo-Addo is established in the Office of the Presidency, together with their Council of State. The president is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. They 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.[4]

The outcome of the December 2012 elections, in which John Dramani Mahama was declared President by the Ghana Electoral Commission,[5][6][7] was challenged by Nana Akufo-Addo, Mahamudu 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[8][9][10]

This precedent which was set by Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP party in 2012 was followed by John Dramani Mahama the then president, and opposition leader and the NDC party when they petition the Highest Court of the Land to overturn the election victory of Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP party on the grounds that the victory was illegal.[11] [12][13]

## Judicial[edit | edit source]

Main article: Judiciary of Ghana

File:Supreme Court of Ghana.jpg

Supreme Court of Ghana.

The Judiciary is responsible for interpreting, applying and enforcing the laws, and exist to settle legal conflicts fairly and in a more competent way.[14] The Supreme Court of Ghana has 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 somewhat 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.[15]

In 2007, Georgina Wood became the first ever female chief justice of the Ghanaian Supreme Court.[16]

## History[edit | edit source]

Further information: Political history of Ghana

Nana Akufo-Addo, the ruling party candidate, was defeated in an election by John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) following the Ghanaian presidential election, 2008.[17][18] Mills died of natural causes and was succeeded by vice-president John Dramani Mahama on 24 July 2012.[19]

Following the Ghanaian presidential election, 2012, John Dramani Mahama became President-elect and was inaugurated on 7 January 2013.[20] Ghana was a stable democracy.[21]

As a result of the Ghanaian presidential election, 2016,[22] Nana Akufo-Addo became President-elect and was inaugurated as the fifth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana and eighth President of Ghana on 7 January 2017.[23] In December 2020, President Nana Akufo-Addo was re-elected after a tightly contested election.[24]

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ "Ghana - Government and society". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
2. ^ "Democracy Index 2021: the China challenge". Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
3. ^ "Parliamentary Detail". www.cpahq.org. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
4. ^ "The political framework of Ghana - Economic and Political Overview - Nordea Trade Portal". www.nordeatrade.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
5. ^ "Ghana election: John Mahama declared winner". BBC News. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
6. ^ "Mahama declared winner of Ghana election". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
7. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Incumbent wins Ghana's presidential election | DW | 09.12.2012". DW.COM. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
8. ^ "Ghana election: NPP challenges John Mahama's victory". BBC News. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
9. ^ "Ghana's Main Opposition Party to Challenge Election | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
10. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Ghana's Supreme Court upholds election result | DW | 29.08.2013". DW.COM. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
11. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Ghana opposition seeks to overturn Akufo-Addo's election win | DW | 30.12.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
12. ^ "Ghana: Supreme Court throws out NDC petition on presidential election results". The Africa Report.com. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
13. ^ 2020 ELECTION PETITION HEARING, archived from the original on 11 December 2021, retrieved 23 May 2021
14. ^ "Judicial Service of Ghana | ARAP-Ghana | Accountability, Rule of law, and Anti-Corruption Programme". www.arapghana.eu. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
15. ^ "Ghanaian criminal court system". Association of Commonwealth Criminal Lawyers. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
16. ^ IAWL (7 March 2021). "Women in Leadership: Justice Georgina Theodora Wood". African Women in Law. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
17. ^ Kokutse, Francis (3 January 2009). "Opposition leader wins presidency in Ghana". USA Today. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
18. ^ Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, "The 2008 Freedom House Survey: Another Step Forward for Ghana." Journal of Democracy 20.2 (2009): 138–152 excerpt.
19. ^ "Atta Mills dies". The New York Times. 25 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
20. ^ "Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama sworn in". Sina Corp. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
21. ^ "Elections in Ghana". Africanelections.tripod.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
22. ^ "What the world media is saying about Ghana's 2016 elections – YEN.COM.GH". yen.com.gh. 7 December 2016. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
23. ^ "2016 Presidential Results". Ghana Electoral Commission. Ghana Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
24. ^ "Ghana election: Nana Akufo-Addo re-elected as president". BBC News. 9 December 2020.

## External links[edit | edit source]

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

* v
* t
* e

Ghana articles

History|

| Historical timeline|

* Early history
* Bono state
* Ashanti Empire
* Gold Coast
* First Republic (1960–1966)
* National Liberation Council
* Kofi Busia
* Ignatius Kutu Acheampong
* Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
* Hilla Limann
* Provisional National Defence Council
* Jerry Rawlings
* John Kufuor
* John Mills
* John Mahama
* Nana Akufo-Addo

|

By topic|

* Economic
* Political
* Postal

Geography|

* Borders
* Cities
* Climate (Climate change)
* Forests
* Mountains
* National parks
* Protected areas
* Rivers
* Wildlife

Politics|

* Administrative divisions
* Constitution
* Cabinet
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Government
* Human rights
* Judiciary
* Law enforcement
* Military
* Political parties
* Parliament
* President
* Prime Minister

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Cedi (currency)
* Central Bank
* Energy
* Fishing
* Labor
* Manufacturing
* Mining
* Oil
* Stock Exchange
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Transport
* Water and sanitation

Society|

* Crime
* Cybercrime
* Demographics
* Education
* Ethnic groups
* Health
* Languages
* Religion
* Squatting
* Women

Culture|

* Cultural heritage
* Cuisine
* Festivals
* Media
* Music
* National anthem
* National pledge
* Public holidays
* Sport
* Social conduct

* Outline
* Index
* Bibliography

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Politics of Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)
* Western Sahara

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template