Elections in Ghana

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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. Both elections are by simple majority vote, 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.

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[edit] Latest elections

[edit] Presidential

[discuss] – [edit]
Summary of the 7 December 2004 Ghana presidential election results
Candidates Nominating parties Votes %
John Kufuor New Patriotic Party 4,524,074 52.45%
John Atta-Mills National Democratic Congress 3,850,368 44.64%
Edward Mahama Grand Coalition (People's National Convention) 165,375 1.92%
George Aggudey Convention People's Party 85,968 1.00%
Total 8,625,785

[edit] Parliamentary

[discuss] – [edit]
Summary of the 7 December 2004 Ghana Parliament election results
Parties and alliances Votes % Seats
New Patriotic Party 4,524,074 52.45% 128
National Democratic Congress 3,850,368 44.64% 94
Grand Coalition 165,375 1.92% 4
Convention People's Party 85,968 1.00% 3
Non-partisans 48,216 0.57% 1
Total (turnout  %)   230
Source: allafrica.com

[edit] Past elections

In 1996, the opposition fully contested the presidential and parliamentary elections, which were described as peaceful, free, and transparent by domestic and international observers. In that election, President Rawlings was re-elected with 57% of the popular vote. In addition, Rawlings' NDC party won 133 of the Parliament's 200 seats, just one seat short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution, although the election returns of two parliamentary seats face legal challenges.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links