Unit 3
Elections in the Second and Third Republics
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Elections in the Second and Third Republics Introduction
Welcome to Unit 3: Elections in the Second and Third Republics. In 1969, parliamentary elections were held for the first time after the last one in 1965. That election which elected 140 MPs brought Ghana into the Second Republic. In 1970, an indirect presidential election to choose a Ceremonial President was held but another coup in 1972 brought the Second Republic to an abrupt end. After six years in power, the military tried to introduce a new system of government called ‘union government’. In March 1978 Ghanaians voted in a referendum over the union government with a controversial outcome. By the start of 1979 however the military rulers had agreed to return the country to constitutional rule. This led to the presidential and parliamentary elections in June 1979. The presidential election was inconclusive in the first round and a run-off took place in July after which the Third Republic started. It is these elections and the referendum which are discussed in this Unit.
Specifically, our attention in this unit will be one the following topics:
Section 1 The 1969 Parliamentary Election
Section 2 The 1970 Presidential Election
Section 3 The 1978 Union Government Referendum
Section 4 The 1979 First Round Presidential Election
Section 5 The 1979 Parliamentary Election
Section 6 The 1979 Presidential Round-off
Please relax as we go through these topics section by section. For each of the topics we shall look at the background and issues involved the contestants, the outcome and effects.
60 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Objectives
By the end of this Unit, you should be able to
account for the performance of the contesting parties in the 1969 parliamentary election
explain the circumstances surrounding the conduct of the presidential election in 1970
discuss the factors leading to the union government
referendum and the controversies over the outcome
discuss the inconclusive first round 1979 presidential
election
analyze the voting pattern in the 1979 parliamentary election
explain the interesting dynamics of the 1979 presidential run-off
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 61 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Section 1 The 1969 Parliamentary Election Introduction
Welcome to Section 1 of Unit 3. I am sure you are ready to study the interesting aspects of the 1969 parliamentary election, the first one after the 1966 coup. I shall begin this section with a study of the background, the regional distribution of the parliamentary seats and the contesting parties. Then I shall outline the results and explain the outcome and their effects on the politics of the country.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
explain the purpose of the 1969 parliamentary election
briefly show the differences among the contesting parties
analyze the outcome of the election in regional and other terms
outline the major effects of the election
Background
Three and half years after the February 1966 coup that overthrew Nkrumah and the CPP, Ghanaians went for another election in August 1969. The purpose of that election was to elect the first Parliament of the Second Republic. It was also from that election that the leader of the largest party in Parliament was to become the Prime Minister and to form the Cabinet (or Government). The leader of the second largest party was to become the Opposition Leader. These provisions were made in the 1969 Constitution.
The Contested Seats
The number of constituencies nationwide was reduced from the 198 in 1965 to 140. The regional breakdown was as follows: Ashanti 22, Brong Ahafo 13, Central 15, Eastern 22, Greater Accra 9, Northern 14, Upper 16, Volta 16 and Western 13. Thus the Ashanti and Eastern Regions had the largest number of constituencies, followed by Upper and Volta, then Central, Brong Ahafo and Western, and Greater Accra.
62 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Contesting Parties
Following the 1966 coup the ruling National Liberation Council (NLC) banned/disallowed the activities of political parties. It was in May 1969, just three months before the election, that the ban was lifted and political parties were allowed to be formed. The rules governing the formation of new political parties did not allow the use of names, mottos and symbols of previous political parties. In addition, the CPP and several of its ministers and other officials were prevented from contesting the election.
Many groups emerged after the ban was lifted but in the end five parties contested the election. These were the Progress Party (PP), the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL), the United Nationalist Party (UNP), the People’s Action Party (PAP), and the All People’s Republican Party (APRP).
Let us learn a few things about each of those political parties:
The PP was led by Kofi A. Busia, the former leader of the United Party (UP) and the party was largely seen as the rebirth of the UP.
Several of the party’s candidates were former opposition MPs/politicians. They included Victor Owusu (Agona Kwabre) & R. R. Amponsah (Mampong North) both in Ashanti; Busia (Wench East) in Brong Ahafo; William Ofori Atta (Akwatia) in Eastern; S. D. Dombo (Jirapa-Lambussie), Jatoe Kaleo (Nadawli), C.K. Tedam (Chiana-Paga) and B.K. Adama (Wa) all in Upper; S. G, Antor (East Dayi) in Volta; and Kwesi Lamptey (Sekondi).
In addition, several of its candidates had played some role in the NLC government or served as members of the Constituent Assembly that drew the 1969 Constitution.
The PP contested all the 140 seats except two: South Tongu (where NAL went unopposed) and Avenor, both in the Volta Region.
The NAL was led by K. A. Gbedemah, who was a prominent member of the CPP until he fell out with Nkrumah in 1961 and went into exile.
A few other NAL candidates were former CPP ministers or MPs, for example, C.T Nylander (Ablekuma) in Greater Accra and E. K. Dadson (Ahanta).
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 63 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics NAL also had some of its members on the Constituent Assembly as well.
Like the PP, it contested all but two seats: Agona Kwabre in Ashanti (where PP went unopposed) and Osu Klottey in Greater Accra.
The United Nationalist Party (UNP) was a merger of the Nationalist Party and the Ghana Democratic Party (UNP). Among its leaders were H. S. Bannerman, Joe Appiah and M.K. Apaloo. The party contested 84 seats.
The People’s Action Party (PAP) was led by Imoru Ayarna, a politician of the Nkrumah era. It contested 52 seats
The All People’s Republican Party (APRP) too was a merger of E. V. C. de Graft Johnson’s All People’s Congress and ex-CPP MP and minister P. K. K. Quaidoo’s Republican Party. It contested the least number of seats, 46. In fact, it did not contest any seat at all in Brong Ahafo and Greater Accra.
In addition, there were 20 independent candidates, spread across all the regions except Brong Ahafo. One of the independents was Akua Asabea-Ayisi, a veteran politician and one of CPP’s prison graduates (PG) of the 1950s.
There were nine constituencies with female contestants: Atwima- Amansie (Ashanti), Amansie West (Ashanti) Denkyira (Central), Ekumfi (Central), Nsawam-Aburi (Eastern), Sandema & Talensi- Nabdam (Upper), Krachi (Volta) and West Dayi (Volta).
The Outcome
We examine in this section many interesting aspects of the results of the 1969 election in which 63.5% of the registered voters turned out to vote. The number of seats won by the parties were: PP won 105 of the 140seats, NAL had 29, UNP won two, PAP two, APRP one and one independent.
The regional distribution of the seats was as follows:
The PP was the only party that won seats in the nine regions. It won all the seats in three regions: 22 in Ashanti, 13 in Brong Ahafo and 15 in Central. It won 18 out of 22 in Eastern, 10 of 13 in Western, 13 of 16 in Upper, 9 of 14 in Northern, 3 out of 9 in Greater Accra and 2 out of 16 in Volta. The three seats won in Greater Accrra were Ayawaso, Okaikwei and Tema, two
64 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics seats the PP won in Volta were Krachi and Nkwanta and the only one in Greater Accra was Ayawaso.
NAL’s 29 seats were spread across five regions: It won 14 out of 16 in Volta, 5 of 14 in Northern, 4 of 22 in Eastern, 3 of 9 in Greater Accra and 3 of 16 in Upper. However it could not win any seats at all in the four remaining regions: Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central and Western.
The two seats UNP won were both in Greater Accra (Ashiedu Keteke & Ga).
The PAP’s two seats were both in the Western (Nzema East & Nzema West).
The single APRP seat was Amenfi in the Western Region which was held by P. K. K. Quaidoo.
The only successful independent candidate was Harry R. Sawyerr in Osu-Klottey. In five other constituencies, independents did well coming second: Kwakye Akyeampong (Sekyere) in Ashanti, Alfred Kye (Abetifi) in Eastern, F. K. D. Odzidzator (Gonja East) in Northern, William Amoro (Bongo) and Mary Abagna Adukumu (Talensi-Nabdam) both in Upper.
Only one female candidate was elected: Lydia Akanbodii-Po in Sandema (Upper) on NAL ticket. In five other constituencies the female contestants were second: Adwoa Kufuor (Atwima Amansie) in Ashanti, Elizabeth Mensah (Ekumfi) in Central, Deborah Djan Awuah (Nsawam-Aburi) in Eastern, Mary Abagna Adukumu (Talensi-Nabdam) in Upper and Eshter Ocloo (West Dayi) in Volta.
Two contestants were elected unopposed: Victor Owusu (PP) in Agona Kwabre and G. K. Agama (NAL) in South Tongu. Coincidentally these would be the major actors the ethnic controversy in Parliament in June 1970 (Frempong 2001, 2006)
Accounting for PP’s victory
We examine below the major factors that accounted for the massive victory of the PP:
A major factor was the personality of Busia, the leader of PP. He was well known throughout the country, as an eminent/famous scholar, an experienced administrator and above all a bitter opponent of Nkrumah. Under the NLC his position as the Chairman of the Centre for Civic Education
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 65 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics further exposed him to Ghanaians. In addition he was perceived as honest, sincere and dedicated and therefore well- respected.
While the leader of the NAL, Gbedemah was also well known throughout the country as a man with a likeable personality, a good businessman, a brilliant organizer and strategist, he and his party were handicapped by his long association with Nkrumah.
There was also the general perception that it was time to reward the former UP after all it suffered during the Nkrumah era. The PP therefore benefitted from identifying itself with the UP. This for example explains why the PP won most seats in Upper Region where the UP was strong.
Several people who became leading members or candidates of PP had held important positions in the NLC regime and on both the Constitutional Commission and the Constituent Assembly. Though other parties had candidates who were members of the Constituent Assembly they were small compared to the PP.
There was the ethnic dimension to the outcome as well.
Particularly the two major parties, PP and NAL were identified with the Akan and Ewe, the ethnic groups of the respective party leaders.
In addition, the leadership of the ruling NLC (with the Chairman Afrifa on one side and his Vice Harlley and Deku on the other) was divided along the same lines.
The outcome of the election confirmed these divisions. Of the total of 85 seats in the five Akan regions of Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern and Western, the PP won 78 while NAL won only four, which happened to be those in the non-Akan Krobo seats. On the other hand NAL won 14 of the 16 seats in the Ewe region of Volta while PP won only two (Krachi & Nkwanta) which were also the Akan enclave in the region.
Post-Election Politics
Justice Nii Amaa Ollenu, an experienced politician and an eminent judge, was elected Speaker of Parliament at the first sitting of Parliament. Isaac Amissah-Aidoo, PP MP for Assin and a chief was also elected as Deputy Speaker.
66 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics As leader and one of the 105 PP winners, Busia was appointed Prime Minister in September. He led a government of 19 substantive ministers and 25 ministerial secretaries (deputy ministers) who assumed power on 1st October 1969. Let us examine some important aspects of the Busia Government:
All but one of the former opposition politicians elected got cabinet positions: Owusu (External Affairs), Amponsah (Lands and Mineral Resources), Ofori Atta (Education), Lamptey (Defence), S. D. Dombo (Interior), Jatoe Kaloe (Labour and Cooperatives), B. K. Adama (Parliamentary Affairs). The only exception was C. K. Tedam but it must be noted that he was one of the opposition politicians who had crossed over to CPP.
Fresh MPs who made it to the cabinet were Kwame Safo-Adu (Agriculture), N. Y. B. Adade (Asante Akim South, Attorney General & Justice), J. H. Mensah (Sunyani, Finance), A. A. Munufie Techiman (Youth and Rural Development), G. D. Ampaw (Abuakwa, Health), K. K. Anti (Birim Anafo, Local Administration), S. W. Awuku-Darko (Works), T. B. Brodie- Mends (Cape Coast), Haruna Esseku (Transport and Communications), R. A. Quarshie (Trade and Industries), W. G. Bruce Konuah (Tema, Housing) and K. G. Osei-Bonsu (State Protocol).
A number of ministerial secretaries who would still be part of the Third and/or Fourth Republics were J. A. Kufuor (Atwima Nwabiagya, External Affairs), Kwaku Baah (Nkawkaw, Interior), Jones Ofori Atta (Begoro, Finance), Charles O. Nyanor (Denkyira, Finance), Justice Akuamoah Boateng (Obuasi, Local Administration),
None of the ministerial positions went to the Volta.
As the leader of the second largest party, NAL, the position of Opposition Leader fell on K. A. Gbedemah, but he could not assume his Keta seat. He was disqualified on the basis of Article 71 of the 1969 Constitution relating to adverse findings against former CPP officials. G. K. Agama assumed the role of opposition Leader in his place. Among the fresh MPs on the opposition bench were Obed Y. Asamoah (Biakoye), Sam A. Okudzeto (North Tongu) and E.R. T. Madjitey (Manya)
In 1970 all the opposition parties came together to form the Justice Party with E. R. T. Madjitey (Manya) as the new Opposition Leader. The Justice Party’s hope of challenging the PP at the next election with a common front was dashed by the January 1972 coup.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 67 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Activity 1.1 1. Outline the regional distribution of seats in the 1969 parliamentary election.
2. Why did the Progress Party (PP) win the 1969 parliamentary election?
Summary
Well done for completing Section 1 of Unit 3. We know you have enjoyed what you now know about the 1969 election. You have learnt that the 1969 election was held to usher in the Second Republic and that the Progress Party with Busia as leader won. He was appointed Prime Minister and he formed the government from members of his party who were also MPs. The leader of the second largest party the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL), Gbedemah, however could not become Opposition Leader because he was disqualified under Article 71. We know you are eager to learn about other interesting things in the rest of the sections in this Unit. Let us continue.
68 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Section 2 The 1970 Presidential Election Introduction
Welcome to Section 2 of Unit 3 where you are going to study an election which many tend to forget about, the 1970 presidential election. The 1969 Constitution separated the position of the Head of State (President) from the Head of Government (Prime Minister). You learnt how the Prime Minister was appointed in the previous section and we now turn to the President. The President was to be elected indirectly through an electoral college made up of MPs and representatives of District Councils and Chiefs. The election of the President however delayed because there was a Presidential Commission which performed the functions of the President for some time. Relax as you go through these interesting developments
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
outline the provisions on the appointment of the President in the 1969 Constitution
explain the transitional provisions which created the Presidential Commission
explain how the August 1970 presidential election was conducted and the outcome
outline the issues in the post-election petition
Background
The 1969 Constitution separated the position of Head of State from the Head of Government. The head of state was the President and the head of government was the Prime Minister. As you studied in the previous section, the Prime Minister was to be appointed after the parliamentary election. He was to be the Member of Parliament who was the leader of the largest party in Parliament. Thus after the 1969 election, Busia became Prime Minister when the Progress Party (PP) for which he was the leader won 105 of the 140 seats in Parliament. In this section, you will learn about the provisions on the election of the President and how a President was actually elected in 1970.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 69 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The Constitutional Provisions on the Election of President
The provisions on the President in the 1969 Constitution were made in Chapter Six (Articles 36-52). In this sub-section, I will outline only those provisions which were directly related to the election of the President.
Article 36 (1) provided that “There shall be a President who shall be the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of Ghana.”
In Article 40, the President of Ghana was to be a citizen of Ghana by birth and at least forty years old and educated enough to perform the functions of President.
In Article 41(3), the President was to be elected indirectly by a presidential electoral college which was to be consisted of three groups. First, all members of the National Assembly; second, three representatives from each of the Regional Houses of Chiefs; and the third, fifteen members elected from all the District Councils in each Region.
Article 41(10) provided that the Speaker of the National Assembly was to be the presiding officer for the election of the President.
Article 42 made provision for how any citizen of Ghana may challenge the election of a President.
The Presidential Commission and the Election of the First President
In addition to the general provisions on the election of the President studied in the previous sub-section, the Transitional Provisions of the 1969 Constitution made further provisions on a Presidential Commission and the Election of the First President.
Let us examine these provisions briefly:
Section 1(1) of the Transitions Provisions created a Presidential Commission which was to perform the functions of President until the National Assembly decided otherwise but not for more than three years. The three-man Presidential Commission was to consist of the Chairman of the National Liberation Council (NLC) as Chairman, the Deputy Chairman of the NLC as Deputy Chairman and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Armed Forces of Ghana as- member.
70 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Section1(4) provided that in the absence of all members of the Presidential Commission and until the assumption of office of the First President, the Speaker of the National Assembly was to be the Acting President.
Section 3 and 4 provided details about procedures the Speaker as Presiding Officer have to follow in summoning/convening the Presidential Electoral College and the conduct of the presidential election.
It was on the basis of Section 1(1) above that Lt-General A. A. Afrifa (Chairman), J. W. K Harlley (Deputy Chairman) and Lt-Gen A. K. Ocran (CDS) became members of the Presidential Commission which appointed Busia as Prime Minister on 3rd September 1969. The Presidential Commission worked till 7 August 1970.
The Conduct of the 1970 Election
On 7 September 1970, the work of the Presidential Commission ended. And the Speaker of the National Assembly, Justice Nii Amaa Ollenu on the basis of the transitional provisions, became the Acting President of Ghana and Presiding Officer for the election of the First President.
Let us learn a few interesting things about the two candidates who contested the presidential election Edward Akufo-Addo and I. B. Asafu-Adjaye:
Akufo-Addo, a lawyer was one of the founding members of the UGCC and became one of the ‘Big Six’ after their arrest following the 1948 riots. He was also a member of the Legislative Council (1949-50). After several years of private practice he was appointed a judge in 1962. He was one of the three-member panel (including Chief Justice Arku Korsah and Justice Van Lare) on the Kulungugu Treason Trial after the assassination attempt on Nkrumah’s life in the Upper Region in August1962. He was however sacked in March 1964 over the panel’s verdict which acquitted three of the accused. Following the overthrow of Nkrumah, Akufo-Addo was appointed Chief Justice as well as the Chairman of the Constitutional Commission that collated views for the drafting of the 1969 Constitution. For the election, he was the ruling PP’s candidate
I. B. Asafu-Adjaye was reportedly elected by the Asanteman Council in 1951 as one of the six territorial members to the Legislative Assembly but declined to take his seat and that allowed Busia who had come seventh in (Austin 1964:147). In 1956, however, he was elected the NLM member for Juaben-
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 71 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Edweso, and became one of the last eight UP members in Parliament (Austin 1964: 407). For the 1970 presidential election however he was the opposition candidate.
Reportedly also, the 1951 IND member of the Legislative Assembly for Tongu, P. D. Adjani, was interested in the race but could not get the required members of the Electoral College to sponsor him (Martinson 2010:60)
On election day, 31st August 1970, six members of the Electoral College (including the sole female MP Lydia Akanbodii-Po) did not vote because they were out of the country or ill (Ghanaian Times, 1-9-69, p.1).
Akufo-Addo was elected by 123 votes to 35 against Asafu-Adjaye.
Post-Election Politics
Joe Appiah, the 1969 losing UNP parliamentary candidate for Atwima Amansie and in 1979 the President of the Ghana Bar Association challenged the election of Edward Akufo-Addo on the basis of Article 42 of the 1969 Constitution. He had argued that the conduct of the presidential election in camera in Parliament was not transparent.
Joe Appiah’s petition was heard by a five-member panel comprising Acting Chief Justice E. A. L. Bannerman (presiding), Justice A. N. E. Amissah, Justice George S. Lassey, Justice K. E. Sakyi and Dr S. K. B. Asante (Solicitor General). The petitioner was represented by Joe Reindorf and J. N. Heward-Mills. Appiah, however, lost the case and a cost of seventy five New Cedis (Nc 75) was preferred against him (cited in Martinson 2010: 61).
Akufo-Addo held office from 1st September 1970 until the 13 January 1972 coup.
Activity 2.1 1. Why was the presidential election under the 1969 Constitution delayed?
2. Why was the 1970 presidential election challenged and what was the verdict on the petition?
72 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Summary
Well done for going through this section with ease. You have studied the constitutional provisions on the election of the President and the appointment of the Presidential Commission. You further learnt about how those positions were filled, the post- election petition and how the second Republic was brought to an abrupt end by the January 1972 coup. Get ready to learn about a new system of government the military leaders wanted to introduce in the next section.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 73 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Section 3 The 1978 Union Government (UNIGOV) Referendum Introduction
You are welcome to Section 3 of Unit 3 where we shall learn about the Union Government referendum of March 1978. When after some years in power the ruling military junta was under pressure to return the country to civilian rule, the government introduced the idea of union government in 1976. After a series of activities Ghanaians were invited to approve the adoption of union government in the 1978 referendum. The outcome was controversial and also had serious impact on the ruling junta. Go through this section carefully.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
explain the factors that led to the introduction of the Union Government idea
outline the arguments for and against Union Government
outline the major steps taken by the government before
the March 1978 referendum
identify some of the pro- and anti- union government
groups that emerged during the cause of the campaign
explain the controversies surrounding the referendum result
analyze the effects of the referendum on the military government and civilian rule in Ghana
Background
After the January 1972 coup, the National Redemption Council (NRC) chaired by Col. I. K Acheampong assumed power. The NRC promised not to hand over until it had put the Ghanaian economy on a sound footing. In July 1975 the NRC was replaced by the Supreme Military Council (SMC) composed of service commanders with Acheampong still as chairman, but with no change in its policies. When by the middle of 1976 the economy
74 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics was rather getting worse, professional and student bodies mounted pressure for the return of the country to constitutional rule. The Ghana Bar Association (GBA), other members of the Professional Bodies Association (PBA) and the Ghana National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) played leading role in this respect (Oquaye 1980: 56-66).
It was in response to these demands that Acheampong introduced the idea of Union Government in October 1976, which he described as ‘a government of national unity, a government of the people, for the people, by the people, not a party government’ (Oquaye 1980: 68). It was intended to be a no-party system in which the military and the police would be given special representation in Parliament and government alongside civilians
The UNIGOV Campaign
Though the meaning of UNIGOV was not clear, there was no doubt that it was a strategy devised by the Acheampong regime to retain power for which it was not ready to compromise. The SMC took several measures to force the programme on Ghanaians.
In January 1977 an Ad Hoc Committee on Union Government was out-doored to collate ideas on union government and report on means of establishing it. The Committee was chaired by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, G. Koranteng-Addow and which included Joe Appiah, who had become Roving Ambassador for the SMC regime (Oquaye 1980: 91).
In July 1977, a two-year transition programme was introduced which included a Union Government referendum on 30th March 1978.
In October 1977, the Committee reported that union government was the predominant wish of Ghanaians after it had toured various part of the country (Oquaye 1980: 95).
Several ‘Special Aides’ of Acheampong were appointed to tour the country to sell the union government idea, while distributing goodies (Oquaye 1980: 85).
Commissioners and other government functionaries abandoned their functions campaigning across the country with state resources and in some cases abroad (Oquaye 1980: 85).
Several pro-UNIGOV groups such as the Society of Friends, the Peace and Solidarity Council, Been-tos of Europe and
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 75 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics America Association staged rallies in support (Oquaye 1980: 86).
Chiefs were rallied round with enticement to hold durbars to promote UNIGOV (Oquaye 1980: 87).
Several veteran CPP politicians including Krobo Edusei, A. E. Inkumsah, J. E. Hagan, E.I. Preko had their confiscated properties returned to them as bait ((Oquaye 1980: 87).
Even an American prophetess, Clare Prophet, was brought in to declare that union government was God’s message to Ghana (Oquaye 1980: 86).
These desperate attempts to impose union government led to stiff opposition from various groups:
The GBA, PBA and NUGS continued in their opposition to the Acheampong regime’s unwillingness to return the country to multi-party constitutional rule.
The Christian Council and the Catholic Secretariat spoke against military involvement in politics and corruption (Oquaye 1980: 95).
The stiffest opposition to union government however emerged with the formation of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice (PMFJ). This group included politicians of both sides of the political divide such as William Ofori Atta, K. A. Gbedemah, A. A. Afrifa and others like Adu Boahen, G. W. Amartefio and Nana Akufo-Addo. The PMFJ opposed one man rule, oppression and dictatorship as well as the one sided nature of the UNIGOV debate. It advocated the free formation of political parties and insisted that military officers interested in politics must first resign (Oquaye 1980: 89).
Two other anti-UNIGOV groups were the Third Force (TF) and the Front for the Prevention of Dictatorship (FPD), both of which were based in Kumasi.
The Acheampong government was not tolerant of any form of opposition to UNIGOV and several persons and groups suffered as illustrated below:
The PMFJ, TF and FPD, and other anti-UNIGOV groups were either denied permits to hold rallies or had their rallies disrupted by government-sponsored thugs (Oquaye 1980: 89).
76 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The Navy Commander Rear Admiral C. K. Dzang, who opposed UNIGOV and called for the return of the soldiers to the barracks, was retired ‘with immediate effect’ (Oquaye 1980: 88).
Other prominent people who were sacked in the cause of the UNIGOV campaign included Chief Justice Azu Crabbe, Bank of Ghana Governor Amon Nikoi, Income Tax Commissioner G. K. O Turkson, and Korle Bu Medical School Head S. R. A. Dodu (Oquaye 1980: 88).
The March 30 Referendum and Outcome
The ballots for the referendum presented an interesting picture. The ‘Yes’ ballot had two hands in a handshake on a blue background, and apparently represented unity. The ‘No’ ballot had three people looking their separate ways on a red background intended to symbolize disunity, but Ghanaians in their ingenuity, interpreted it to mean ‘three heads are better than one’.
In spite of fear of violence, the 30th March Referendum went on relatively peaceful. However, the Electoral Commissioner I. K. Abban had to run for his dear life after announcing the results in just two constituencies (Oquaye 1980: 104). A. M. Quaye, Deputy Electoral and a publicly-avowed supporter of UNIGOV, was appointed Acting Commissioner and continued with the counting.
The most interesting aspect of the outcome of referendum was not that Yes won but the two contrasting results declared, the first presented to the Head of State on 3rd April and the second published in the Ghana Gazette on 21st April, as illustrated in the two tables below: Region Yes No Total Yes (%) No (%) Winner (No.) (No.) Ashanti 142795 170122 312917 45.6 54.4 No Brong Ahafo 65158 138820 203978 31.9 68.1 No Central 116100 76386 192486 60.3 39.7 Yes Eastern 118949 142027 260976 45.6 54.4 No Greater Accra 118406 113036 231442 51.2 48.8 Yes Northern 143144 48472 191616 74.7 25.3 YES Upper 174154 49101 233255 78.0 22.0 Yes Volta 102111 92062 194173 52.6 47.4 Yes Western 122606 50229 172835 70.9 29.1 Yes Total 1103423 880255 1983678 55.6 44.4 Yes Total Registered Voters: 4614767 Total Votes Cast: 1983678 Voter Turnout: 43.0%
From the results declared on 3rd April as shown in the table above:
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 77 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The total number of registered voters was 4,614,767 out of which 1,983,678 voted with a voter turnout of 43%.
YES won in six regions with 70%-plus in three (Upper 78%, Northern 74.7% & Western 70.9%); with 60.3% in Central, 52.6% in Volta and 51.2% in Greater Accra.
NO won in the three remaining regions with 68.1% in Brong Ahafo, 54.4% in Ashanti and 54.4% in Eastern.
The overall result was 55.6% for YES and 44.4% for NO, a margin of 11.2%.
However in the gazetted results as shown in the table below, there were interesting changes: Region Yes (No.) No (No.) Total Yes (%) No (%) Winner Ashanti 148680 199623 348303 42.7 57.3 No Brong Ahafo 65613 136457 202070 32.5 67.5 No Central 165113 76386 241499 68.4 31.6 Yes Eastern 120950 143827 264777 45.7 54.3 No Greater Accra 118406 113036 231442 51.2 48.8 Yes Northern 210709 48533 259242 81,2 18.8 Yes Upper 245098 49902 295000 83.1 16.9 Yes Volta 107499 92366 199865 53.8 46.2 Yes Western 190359 50256 240615 79.1 20.9 Yes TOTAL 1372427 910359 2282813 60.1 39.9 Yes Total Registered Voters: 4497805, Total Votes Cast: 2282813 Voter Turnout: 50.8%
The total number of registered voters dropped from the initial 4,614,767 (which was the figure the EC published before the referendum) down to 4,497,805; while the total votes cast went up from 1,983,678 to 2,282,813, raising the voter turnout up to 50.8%. This was deliberately to show that more than half the registered voters did vote.
The percentage votes changed in all the regions except Greater Accra.
The YES vote improved significantly in the remaining five regions it won: Upper 83.1% (from 78%), Northern 81.2% (from 74.7%), Western 79.1% (from 70.9%), Central 68.4% (from 60.3%) and Volta 53.8% (from 52.6%).
In the three regions that NO won the vote improved marginally in Brong Ahafo 68.4% (from 68.1%) and Ashanti 57.3% (from 54.4%) and dropped marginally in Eastern 54.3% (from 54.4%).
78 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The overall results then showed 60.1% for YES and 39.9% for NO. Clearly, this was meant to show that UNIGOV had been approved by a significant majority.
Post-Referendum Politics
To silent protest over the outcome, three anti-UNIGOV groups PMFJ, Third Force and FDP were banned with immediate effect after the 3 April declaration of the results on grounds that with UNIGOV victory those groups were not needed (Oquaye 1980: 108).
Leading members of the three groups were arrested and detained together with several professionals, intellectuals and students (Oquaye 1980: 109).
In response, lawyers withdrew their services indefinitely and students totally boycotted lectures (Oquaye 1980: 110).
On 5th July 1978, Acheampong was forced to resign in a palace coup and replaced by his deputy Lt. Gen F. W. K. Akuffo whose SMC II government eventually gave in to multi-party politics from January 1979 and the holding of the 1979 elections which ushered in the Third Republic.
Activity 3.1 1. What factors forced the ruling military council to introduce the idea of Union Government?
2. Explain the controversies surrounding the referendum results.
Summary
Well done for completing Section 3 of this Unit 3. i know you have enjoyed studying all about the union government idea, the campaign, the referendum and its controversial outcome and post- referendum politics. Get ready to study in the subsequent three sections the elections which emerged from the ashes of the 1978 referendum.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 79 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Section 4 The 1979 First Round Presidential Election Introduction
You are very welcome to Section 4 of Unit 3. By the start of 1979, the military leaders had agreed to return the country to civilian rule. The 1979 Constitution adopted the American presidential system which provided for separate presidential and parliamentary elections to be held the same day. In this section, we shall study the 1979 presidential election which had many interesting dimensions but inconclusive in its outcome. Come along as we discuss the 1979 First Round Presidential Election.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
identify the six parties and the four independent candidates in the presidential race
give a brief background of each of the six contesting parties
explain how attempts were made to balance the
presidential tickets
outline the regional distribution of the results
explain the outcome and its implications for the run-off
Background
The 1979 Constitution largely adopted the American presidential system of government and provided for separate parliamentary and presidential elections to be held the same day.
For the presidential election a candidate needed to win more than fifty percent of the total valid votes cast in the election to be elected (Article 50(3), 1979 Constitution).
The ban on political parties was lifted in January 1979, parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for June and handover for July the same year.
80 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Two weeks ahead of the elections however, there was the June 4th uprising against the Akuffo regime. The new government, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), allowed the election to be held as scheduled, but the handover was delayed till September 1979.
Contesting Parties and Candidates
Six political parties contested the 1979 presidential election (just like the parliamentary). These were: the People’s National Party (PNP), the Popular Front Party (PFP), the United National Convention (UNC), the Action Congress Party (ACP), the Social Democratic Front (SDF) and the Third Force Party (TFP).
We now learn a few important things about each of the parties:
The People’s National Party (PNP) was the successor to the CPP and it saw in the 1979 polls its first opportunity to come back to power since 1966. Its electoral strategy was to use the old CPP networks but to put forward a large number of young and highly educated ‘new faces’ for both the parliamentary and presidential contests. Thus for example, its presidential candidate, Hilla Limann, was a diplomat and scholar who had not been involved in the politics of the country before. The PNP promised to follow Nkrumah’s programmes for national unity and economic reconstruction (Chazan 1983; Jeffries 1980).
The Popular Front Party (PFP) was one of the two parties that emerged from the former Progress Party (PP). Its leader, Victor Owusu and several of its founding members were ministers in Busia’s PP government, particularly those from Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and the Upper Regions. It promised to follow the PP’s free enterprise and rural development (Chazan 1983; Jeffries 1980).
The United National Convention (UNC) was the other party which emerged out of Busia’s Progress Party. Its leader, William Ofori Atta was also in the Busia cabinet but it also had among its leaders former NAL and UNP MPs. This was why the UNC described itself as being ‘broad-based’. It promised to promote national unity and the working of the multi-party system (Chazan 1983; Jeffries 1980). It must be noted that this division among the former members of the Progress Party had serious effect on the outcome of the presidential election as well as the parliamentary
The Action Congress Party (ACP) was formed and led by a former military agriculture commissioner in the Acheampong regime, Frank G. Bernasko. He promised to bring an agriculture
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 81 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics revolution similar to the ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ he introduced under in the Acheampong era (Chazan 1983; Jeffries 1980).
The Social Democratic Front (SDF), which was led by a Tamale-based lawyer, Ibrahim Mahama, was said to be the workers’ party which hoped to work with the TUC to improve the conditions of workers in the country (Chazan 1983; Jeffries 1980).
The Third Force (TFP) emerged from the anti-unigov group, the Third Force, and its leader was John Bilson, a Kumasi-based medical officer who has become a politician (Chazan 1983; Jeffries 1980).
In addition were four independent presidential candidates: R. P. Baffour, Kwame Nyanteh, Nii Diamond Addy and Imoro Ayarna (the leader of the former People’s Action Party) (Chazan 1983; Jeffries 1980).
Thus, there were as many as ten presidential candidates in the 1979 presidential elections. The 1979 Constitution provided that each of the presidential candidates should name his/her running mate before the election. It is the running mate who would become the vice president when the candidate won.
The list of the presidential candidates and their running mates (presidential tickets) for the 1979 presidential election was as shown below: Party Presidential Candidate Running Mate People’s National Party (PNP) Hilla Limann J. W. S. de Graft-Johnson Popular Front Party (PFP) Victor Owusu Yakubu Tali United National Convention William Ofori Atta Mahama Iddrisu (UNC) Action Congress Party (ACP) Frank G. Bernasko Attoh Okine Social Democratic Front (SDF) Ibrahim Mahama J. Mawuse Dake Third Force Party (TFP) John Bilson John Kportugbe Independent R. P. Baffour Christine K. Debrah Independent Kwame Nyanteh Albert Baiden Amissah Independent Diamond Nii Addy R. A. Quansah Independent Imoru Ayarna Kofi Kissi Debrah There were a number of interesting aspects to the 1979 presidential tickets:
A number of the tickets ensured a north-south balance: Four examples were:
PNP’s Limann from Upper Region had de Graft-Johnson from Central Region as his running mate;
82 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Victor Owusu (PFP) from Ashanti chose Yakubu Tali (Tolon Na) from Northern Region;
William Ofori-Atta (UNC) from Eastern chose Iddrisu Mahama from Upper Region; and
Ibrahim Mahama (SDF) from Northern had Mawusi Dake from Volta Region as his running mate.
Some tickets also ensured ethnic balance: for example,
Frank Bernasko (ACP) chose Attoh Okine, a Ga (non-Akan)
John Bilson (TFP) a Fanti (Akan) chose, John Kportugbe, an Ewe (non-Akan).
Other tickets ensured religious balance:
Owusu (PFP), a Christian chose Yakubu Tali, a Moslem;
Ofori Atta (UNC), a Christian also chose a Moslem, Iddrisu; and
independent Imoru Ayarna (Moslem ) chose Kissi Debrah (Christian)
One presidential ticket ensured gender balance: Independent R. P. Baffour chose Christine Debrah, who became the first ever female running mate in the country’s electoral history.
This attempt of presidential candidates to ensure regional/ethnic/ religious/ gender balance would become an important feature of presidential elections in the Fourth Republic.
The Outcome
As we studied earlier, the 1979 Constitution provided the winner must get more-than-fifty percent (50%) of the total valid votes cast. Thus, from the results shown in the table below, none of the ten candidates won the election in the first round held on 18 June 1979:
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 83 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Party Presidential Vote Constituencies Remarks Candidate (%) Won People’s Hilla Limann 35.3 73 Won some constituencies in all National Party the nine regions (PNP) Popular Front Victor Owusu 29.9 40 Won constituencies in six regions Party (PFP) but none from Central, Volta and Western United National William Ofori-Atta 17.4 14 Won constituencies in four Convention regions: Ashanti, Eastern, (UNC) Greater Accra and Volta Action Frank G. Bernasko 9.5 10 Won constituencies in only two Congress Party regions: Central and Western (ACP) Social Ibrahim Mahama 3.7 3 Won all three constituencies in Democratic Northern Front (SDF) Third Force John Bilson 2.8 0 Could not win any constituency Party (TFP) Independent R. P. Baffour 0.5 0 Could not win any constituency Independent Kwame Nyanteh 0.3 0 Could not win any constituency Independent Diamond Nii Addy 0.3 0 Could not win any constituency Independent Imoru Ayarna 0.3 0 Could not win any constituency Total 100. 140 0 Source: Adapted from Legon Observer, 13 July 1979
We can learn a lot from the table above on the outcome of the first round presidential election. Let us begin with the percentages won:
Hilla Limann, the PNP candidate, led the race with 35.3% but that was about 15% short of ‘the more than 50%’ he needed to win.
The PFP candidate, Victor Owusu, was second with 29.9%, trailing Limann by 5.4%; while William Ofori Atta (UNC) was third with 17.4%.
Frank Bernasko (ACP) followed in fourth position with 9.5% and John Bilson (TFP) was fifth with 2.8%.
The four independent candidates Baffour, Nyanteh, Addy and Ayarna together could only make 1.4%.
We now look at the number of constituencies won by each candidate:
Limann (PNP) won 73 of the 140 constituencies, and was the only candidate to win constituencies in all the nine regions as follows: Ashanti (3), Brong Ahafo (2), Central (8), Eastern (11), Greater Accra (6), Northern (7), Upper (15), Volta (11) and Western (10).
84 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Owusu (PFP) won 40 constituencies in six regions: Ashanti (18), Brong Ahafo (11), Eastern (6), Greater Accra (1), Northern (3) and Upper (1). Thus Owusu won 29 of his 40 constituencies in only Ashanti and Brong Ahafo. The three regions in which he won no constituencies were Central, Volta and Western.
Ofori Atta (UNC) won 14 constituencies in four regions: Ashanti (1), Eastern (4) Greater Accra (3) and Volta (5). The five regions in which he could not win any constituencies were: Brong Ahafo, Central, Northern, Upper and Western.
Bernasko (ACP) won 10 constituencies in two regions, Central (7) and Western (3) and Mahama (SDF), all his three constituencies in Northern.
Bilson (TFP) and the four independents (Baffour, Nyanteh, Addy & Ayarna) could not win any constituencies at all.
The distribution of the constituencies among the candidates would have some impact on the presidential run-off
Accounting for the First Round Presidential Outcome
There were many interesting factors that produced this inconclusive first round presidential election results:
The large number of presidential candidates each with some considerable following made it difficult for any of them to win in the first round.
The choice of Hilla Limann as the PNP candidate proved useful to the party. He was not known in Ghanaian politics and there was little or nothing that could be said against him, however he was not too well known to win outright.
The Nkrumahists (PNP) who had been out of power for thirteen years were hungrier for power and worked hard to unite all the former supporters of CPP. The PNP made references to the infrastructural and other achievements of the Nkrumah while cleverly dissociating itself from the bad aspects.
The PFP candidate Victor Owusu was experienced but he was perceived to be a proud politician and was seriously affected by the ‘inward looking’ statement he made in parliament in the Second Republic.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 85 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The PFP appeared complacent in its campaign behaving as if it was virtually going to win to continue from where the PP left off.
The division of the former PP into PFP and UNC seriously affected the chances of the two parties, For example, the two candidates, Owusu and Ofori Atta could not win any seats in Central and Western, regions which PP had performed so well in 1969. In the Eastern Region, the division gave Limann advantage who won 11 constituencies compared to a total of ten for Owusu and Ofori Atta.
Bernasko and his ACP was only effective in his home region of Central and to some extent in Western but nowhere else; while the efforts of the SDF was somehow restricted to the Northern Region.
The UNC’s 17%, ACP’s 10% and the SDF’ 2.8% all cut deep into the votes of the two frontrunners.
While Bilson (TFP) and the four independent candidates did not perform well they still took away more than 3% of the total votes cast.
Activity 4.1 1. Outline backgrounds of the parties that contested the 1979 presidential election.
2. Why did any of the contestants failed to win the 1979 presidential election in the first round?
Summary
Congratulate yourself again for going through this section. You have studied many interesting things about presidential tickets, presidential candidates and their running mates, ticket balancing as well as inconclusive election. You further learnt about ten candidates in the 1979 race, six belonging to parties and four independents as well as their performance. Get ready for what happened in the parliamentary election held on the same day in the next section.
86 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Section 5 The 1979 Parliamentary Election Introduction
Welcome to Section 5 of Unit 3. As we already know, the 1979 parliamentary election was held the same day as the presidential election. In this section we shall study the details of that election including the number of seats contested, party and independent contestants and their performance as well as the regional distribution of the results.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
show the number of constituencies contested nationwide and the regional distribution
indicate the number of contestants for each party as well as the number of independent candidates
indicate the number of seats won by each of the
contesting parties
analyze the regional distribution of the seats
account for the parliamentary outcome
Background
The 1979 parliamentary election was held the same day (18th June) as the presidential election. This meant each voter voted for a presidential candidate and separately for a parliamentary candidate before leaving the polling station in the same way that it would be done in all elections from 1996.
Contested Seats
The number of constituencies nationwide remained 140 as it was in 1969. There were however only two little changes. First was that the Ada Constituency which was previously in the Eastern Region was shifted to the Greater Accra. Thus, the new regional distribution was Ashanti 22, Brong Ahafo 13, Central 15, Eastern 21 (from 22), Greater Accra 10 (from 9), Northern 14, Upper 16, Volta 16 and Western 13. Second, the former Kraboa Coaltar Constituency in the Eastern Region was re-named Densuagya.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 87 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Contesting parties
The same six political parties in the presidential election were also in the parliamentary race, namely: PNP, PFP, UNC, ACP, SDF and TFP. In addition were seven independents. The details of the regional distribution of candidates among the parties were as shown in the table below: Region PNP PFP UNC ACP SDF TFP IND Ashanti 22 22 22 22 16 18 B. Ahafo 13 12 13 11 4 13 2 Central 15 15 15 15 9 12 2 Eastern 21 21 21 18 16 18 1 Gt Accra 10 10 10 10 10 9 Northern 14 14 14 10 14 13 Upper 16 16 16 15 16 15 Volta 16 16 16 16 16 14 2 Western 13 13 13 13 11 12 National 140 139 140 130 124 124 7 Compared to 1969, the parties in 1979 apparently showed nearly equal strengths in the number of seats contested. Two parties (PNP and UNC) contested all the 140 seats available, followed by PFP which contested all but the Sunyani seat, ACP (130), just ten seats less and 124 seats each for SDF and TFP.
Outcome
The distribution of the parliamentary seats was as follows: Region PNP PFP UNC ACP SDF IND Total Ashanti 2 19 1 22 B. Ahafo 2 10 1 13 Central 8 7 15 Eastern 11 6 4 21 Gt. Accra 6 1 3 10 Northern 7 4 3 14 Upper 15 1 16 Volta 11 5 16 Western 9 1 3 13 National 71 42 13 10 3 1 140 As illustrated in the table above, the parties proved to be of unequal strengths, but more interestingly, their share of seats corresponded with the number of constituencies won in the presidential election:
The PNP won 71 seats, the only party to win across all the regions: 15 in Upper, 11 each in Eastern and Volta, 9 in Western, 8 in Central, 7 in Northern, 6 in Greater Accra and 2 each in Ashanti (Asukwa & Obuasi) and Brong Ahafo (Attebubu & Kwame Danso). It won a majority in all the regions except Ashanti and Brong Ahafo
88 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The PFP won 42 seats in all, across seven regions: 19 in Ashanti, 10 in Brong Ahafo, 6 in Eastern, 4 in Northern, and 1 each in Greater Accra (Ashiedu-Keteke), Upper (Jirapa- Lambussie), and Western (Amenfi). It failed to win seats in Central and Volta.
The UNC won 13 across four regions: 5 in Volta, 4 in Eastern, 3 in Greater Accra, and 1 in Ashanti (Mampong North). It failed to win in Brong Ahafo, Central, Northern, Upper and Western.
The ACP won 10 seats in two regions: 7 in Central and 3 in Western. It failed to win in Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper and Volta.
The SDF won 3 seats, all in Northern and failed to win in the remaining 8 regions
The TFP could not win even a single seat.
There was one independent winner in Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) where the PFP could not contest because its candidate J. H. Mensah (the former PP MP and Minister of Finance) was disqualified.
There were five female winners: Constance Doris Commey (ACP, Asikuma-O-Brakwa, CR), Agatha Ama Awuah (PNP, Denkyira, CR), Elizabeth Kusi-Aidoo (PNP, Densuagya, ER), Monica P. Atenka (PNP, Buem, VR).
Unlike in 1969, there was not a single region in which a single party won all the seats:
The 22 seats in Ashanti were held by PFP (19), PNP (2) and UNC (1).
The 13 seats in Brong Ahafo went to PFP (10), PNP (2) and an independent.
In Central, the 15 seats were shared between PNP (8) and ACP (7).
Eastern distributed its 21 seats to PNP (11), PFP (6) and UNC (4).
Greater Accra’s 10 seats went to PNP (6), UNC (3) and PFP (1).
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 89 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The 14 seats in Northern was shared among PNP (7), PFP (4) and SDF (3).
In Upper, the 16 seats went to PNP (15) and PFP (1).
Volta gave its 16 seats to PNP (11) and UNC (5).
Western distributed its 13 seats to PNP (9), ACP (3) and PFP (1).
Accounting for the outcome
The PFP-UNC divide helped the PNP to win several seats which it could have lost if the two parties were united. This was particularly so in the Eastern Region where there were several constituencies that PNP won with less votes than the combined PFP-UNC votes.
Unlike in 1969 when the five Akan regions voted solidly for one party, this time the votes in those regions were shared among four (PFP, PNP, UNC and ACP).
The PNP strategy of fielding fresh candidates while the old politicians supported from behind worked better than the PFP which fielded several of the PP MPs in the constituencies they previously held.
The PNP succeeded in associating itself with the many developmental projects of the Nkrumah era while it distanced itself from the darker side of that regime.
The performance of the other parties apart from the PNP showed that their strengths were restricted to particular regions.
Post-Election Politics
Let us take a look at some of the interesting issues in Parliament after the election:
Justice Jacob H. Griffiths-Randolph was elected Speaker of Parliament. Edmond Dramani Mahami PNP MP for Nalerigu was elected First Deputy Speaker and Leonard Peace Tosu, UNC MP for Keta, the Second Deputy Speaker.
With 71 seats, the PNP became the majority in Parliament and some of its members were appointed to the Majority
90 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Leadership. In order that it can work more effectively it agreed to work with the 13 UNC MPs.
The PFP with the second largest number of seats (42) appointed some of its members into the Minority Leadership. The PFP MP for Nkawkaw became the first Minority Leader. It also appointed some of its members as spokespersons of the various ministries to effectively check the work of the President and his Ministers.
In November 1979 by-elections were held in ten constituencies across the country. For nine of them the MPs had been appointed ministers and had resigned from Parliament. In the case of the tenth seat, Mampong North, its MP-elect A. A. Afrifa had been executed by the AFRC before he could enter Parliament. In each case, the seat was retained by the party which previously held it. Eight of them were PNP and two UNC.
In 1980, the UNC broke away from the PNP and joined the other parties PFP, ACP and SDF to form the All People’s Party (APP).
The hope that the APP would challenge the PNP with a united front was dashed by the 31st December 1981 coup.
Activity 5.1 1. Outline the regional distribution of seats in the 1979 parliamentary election.
2. How was the division between PFP and UNC affect the outcome of the 1979 parliamentary election?
Summary
Well done once more for completing this section. I know you have enjoyed the very interesting aspects of the 1979 parliamentary election. You have learnt about the performance of the contesting parties as well as the regional distribution of the seats which differed from that of 1969. You have also studied the interesting post-election activities. Get ready for another interesting discussion of the presidential run-off in the next section.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 91 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Section 6 The 1979 Presidential Run-off Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
identify the two candidates and parties that qualified to contest the run-off
explain the role of the presidential candidates and parties not in the run-off contest
explain the percentage vote in the run-off in regional terms
explain the regional voting pattern in terms of
constituencies won
account for Limann’s massive victory
Background
Following the inconclusive first round, a presidential run-off was held on 9 July 1979. According to the 1979 Constitution, if none of the candidates in a presidential election wins more than fifty percent of the valid votes cast, a presidential run-off must be held within 21 days between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. This was the basis for the 9 July 1979 presidential run-off/second round/second ballot which are discussed in this section.
Contesting Parties and Candidates
The two candidates who qualified to contest the run-off based on the first round results were Limann (PNP) and Owusu (PFP), but the other candidates and parties not in the race had some part to play.
We discuss these interesting issues below:
In percentage terms Limann (35.3%) and Owusu (29.9%) together won 65.2% of the first round votes and there were 34.7%, the total votes of the other candidates, to fight for in the second round.
92 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics The two contestants together, Limann (73) and Owusu (40), won 113 constituencies, in the first round, leaving 27 to claim in the run-off.
There was the need for the two contestants to seek and win the support of the other candidates, their parties and supporters. This provided the third parties with an interesting role to play in the run-off.
With the candidates reduced from ten to two, the Ghanaian voters were presented with a clearer choice. It was a choice between a first time politician with no political baggage and an experienced one with baggage, both good and bad, between one who appeared humble and diplomatic and the other perceived to be proud and frank, between a Northerner and a Southerner, between a non- Akan and an Akan, etc.
The Outcome
The most outstanding feature of the outcome of the run-off was that the novice Limann heavily defeated the veteran Owusu. But there were many interesting aspects which we shall examine at two levels: in terms of percentages and in terms of constituencies won.
1979 Presidential Run-off Results by Percentages Candidate/ AR BAR CR ER GAR NR UR VR WR National Remarks Party Limann 42.4 38.3 71.0 55.8 72.6 66.2 74.3 88.4 78.6 62.0 Won (PNP) seven regions between 55% and 89% Owusu 57.6 61.7 29.0 44.2 27.4 33.8 25.7 11.6 21.4 38.0 Won in (PFP two regions between 57% and 62% Source: Adapted from Legon Observer, 13 July 1979
From the table above, Limann defeated Owusu by 62%-38%, a wide margin of 24% but the regional details were even more interesting:
Limann won in seven of the nine regions. He performed best in Volta (85.6%) and got more than 70% in four other regions: Central (71.0%), Greater Accra (72.6%), Upper (74.3%) and
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 93 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Western (78.6%). In the remaining two regions he won, he got 66.2% in Northern and 55.8% in Eastern.
Owusu won in only two regions: Ashanti (57.6%) and Brong Ahafo (61.7%), but in both regions he could not perform as well as Limann did in six of the seven he won.
Limann lost in only Ashanti (42.4%) and Brong Ahafo (38.3%).
Of the seven regions Owusu lost, he got more than 40% only in Eastern (44.2%) and more than 30% in only Northern (33.8%). In four other regions he could only get 20%-plus: Central (29.0%), Greater Accra (27.4%), Upper (25.7%) and Western (21.4%). In Volta, Owusu got as low as 14.4%.
It is interesting to note that whereas nearly three out of every four voters (74.3%) went for Limann in his home region of Upper, in the case of Owusu he got less than three out of five voters (57.6%) going for him in his home region of Ashanti.
On the other hand, whereas Limann got more than 40% in Ashanti, the home region of his opponent, Owusu got less than 30% in Upper, the home of his opponent.
1979 Presidential Run-off Results by Number of Constituencies Won Candidate/ AR BAR CR ER GAR NR UR VR WR NAT Remarks Party Limann 6 3 15 14 10 12 16 16 13 105 Won 32 more (PNP) constituencies from 73 in the first round Owusu 16 10 0 7 0 2 0 0 0 35 Won five (PFP constituencies less from 40 in the first round Total 22 13 15 21 10 14 16 16 13 140 Source: Adapted from Legon Observer, 13 July 1979
Overall, Limann won 105 constituencies, up by 32 from 73 in the first round while Owusu won 35, five less from 40 in the first round. But the details were more interesting:
Limann won more constituencies in each of the nine regions than in the first round: The additional constituencies he won were: Ashanti (+3), Brong Ahafo (+1), Central (+7), Eastern (+3), Greater Accra (+4), Northern (+5), Upper (+1), Volta (+5) and Western (+3).
94 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics Owusu won more constituencies only in Eastern (+1); in five others he won less constituencies: Ashanti (-2), Brong Ahafo (- 1), Greater Accra (-1), Northern (-2) and Upper (-1). In Central, Volta and Western, Owusu could still not win a single constituency.
Limann won all the 10 constituencies ACP won previously, 13 of the 14 UNC won, all the three SDF won, and seven Owusu (PFP) previously won but lost only one.
Owusu won one constituency each which UNC and PNP previously won but lost seven to PNP.
Whereas Limann won some constituencies in each region, Owusu won none in five: Central, Greater Accra, Upper, Volta and West.
Whereas Limann won majority of seats in seven regions (Central, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper, Volta &Western), Owusu did so in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo only.
Accounting for the outcome
The division of the former Progress Party into PFP and UNC, allowed the PNP to win several constituencies which the PP had won in 1969.
There was the general perception, rightly or wrongly, that Owusu was a tribal and a proud politician, while Limann for whom little was known was seen as humble.
Going into the run-off Owusu could not win the support of any of the losing candidates and their parties.
After several PFP MPs lost their parliamentary seats they could not help Owusu much in the run-off campaign.
After leading in the first round and and his party winning a parliamentary majority, Ghanaians generally wanted to vote for Limann (PNP) to avoid unnecessary conflict between the Executive (Presidency) and the Legislature (Parliament).
Post-Election Politics
Hilla Limann was sworn in as President of the Third Republic in September 1979 and his running mate J. W. de Graft-Johnson as the Vice President.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 95 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics President Limann appointed several of his ministers from Parliament and by the provisions of the 1979 Constitution they had to resign their parliamentary seats. This was what led to the November 1979 by elections discussed in the previous section.
Because the PNP and UNC had agreed to work together, the UNC presidential candidate Ofori Atta was appointed Chairman of the Council of State and the UNC MP for Osu-Klotey, Harry Sawyerr was appointed Minister of Transport and Communication.
The Limann government was brought to an abrupt end by the 31st December 1981 coup.
Activity 6.1 1. Why was Victor Owusu defeated by Hilla Limann in the 1979 presidential runoff?
2. How did Limann’s ministerial appointments affect the 1979 Parliament?
Summary
Well done for completing Section 6 of Unit 3. You noticed that only two candidates qualified for the run-off, the other candidates not in the race gave their support to Limann and that reflected in the results. While Limann won constituencies in all the nine regions, there were as many as five regions in which Owusu could not win even a single constituency. Limann on assumption of office appointed several ministers from Parliament which led to by- elections to fill their seats.
Unit Summary
Thank you for completing Unit 3 on time. You have just gone through the interesting elections of 1969 and 1970 of the Second Republic and the 1979 presidential and parliamentary elections of the Third Republic with the 1978 Union Government Referendum in-between.
I began with the 1969 parliamentary election which was contested by five parties but which the Progress Party (PP) led by Busia 105 of the 140 seats. I noted other interesting aspects of the election such as the PP winning all the seats in three regions, NAL winning almost all the seats in one region, and the poor performance of the
96 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 3 Elections in the Second and Third Republics other parties. I went further to look at ministerial and other appointments made after the election which included Busia as Prime Minister and the inability of Gbedemah to become the Opposition Leader.
I then considered the indirect Presidential election of 1970. You studied why the election was delayed, the mode of conduct of the election, its outcome and most interestingly the post-election petition.
The next three sections were devoted to the first round presidential, parliamentary and run-off all held in 1979 to usher in the Third Republic. For each of them we examined the contesting parties and candidates, various aspects of the results as well as post-election activities.
I am hopeful that you will tackle the next Unit with the same high level of zeal and enthusiasm. Well done.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 97