Politics of Ghana

2 Legislative branch

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 government. Legislative power
is vested in both the government and Parliament. The
Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

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 qualied veto over all bills except those to which a vote of urgency is attached. The
members are elected for a four-year term in single-seat
constituencies by simple majority vote. As it is predicted
by Duvergers law, the voting system has encouraged
Ghanaian politics into a two-party system, which means
that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme
diculty 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.

The constitution that established the Fourth Republic

provided a basic charter for republican democratic government. It declares Ghana to be a unitary republic
with sovereignty residing in the Ghanaian people. Intended to prevent future coups, dictatorial government,
and one-party states, it is designed to establish the concept
of powersharing. The document reects lessons learned
from the abrogated constitutions of 1957, 1960, 1969,
and 1979, and incorporates provisions and institutions
drawn from British and American constitutional models.
One controversial provision of the Constitution indemnies members and appointees of the Provisional National
Defence Council (PNDC) from liability for any ocial
act or omission during the years of PNDC rule. The Constitution calls for a system of checks and balances, with
power shared between a president, a unicameral parliament, a council of state, and an independent judiciary.

3 Political parties and elections

For other political parties, see List of political parties in
Ghana. An overview on elections and election results is
included in Elections in Ghana.
Main article: Ghanaian presidential election, 2004
Main article: Ghanaian parliamentary election, 2004

4 Judicial branch
1

Executive branch

Main article: Judiciary of Ghana

The structure and the power of the judiciary are inde-

Executive authority is established in the Oce of the

Presidency, together with his Council of State. The president is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. He also 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.
The outcome of the December 2012 elections, which declared John Dramani Mahama as President of Ghana by
the Ghana Electoral Commission was challenged by Nana
Akuo Addo, Mahmoud Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi
Lamptey at the Supreme Court of Ghana of which the
Supreme Court came out with the verdict that the Presi- Supreme Court of Ghana.
dent, John Dramani Mahama legally won the 2012 prespendent of the two other branches of government. The
idential election.
1

Supreme Court of Ghana has broad 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 largely 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.[1] In 2007, Georgina Wood became the rst ever
female chief justice of the Ghanaian Supreme Court.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Ghana

Ghana is divided into ten regions: Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo,
Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East,
Upper West, Volta, and Western.

International organization participation

Ghana is member of ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS,

FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer),
ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO

See also
Government of Ghana

References

[1] Ghanaian criminal court system. Association of Commonwealth Criminal Lawyers. Retrieved 2011-01-28.

External links
Global Integrity Report: Ghana has information on
Ghanas anti-corruption eorts.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Ghana Government at DMOZ

Latest Political News From Ghana

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