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Political Parties and Democratic Development in Ghana: from Transition to Consolidation and Beyond

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Political Parties and Democratic Development in Ghana: from Transition to Consolidation and Beyond POLITICAL PARTIES AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA: FROM TRANSITION TO CONSOLIDATION AND BEYOND By NICK FOBIH A thesis submitted to the Department of Political Studies in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kinston, Ontario, Canada April 2008 Copyright © Nick Fobih, 2008 Abstract At the time of the Ghana’s independence in March 1957, a democratic system of government was instituted, but the process of political development was derailed and often interrupted by frequent coups. This is evident in the interchange of military and civilian regimes in the last fifty-one years. While in the post-independence era, the development of democracy, the party system and democratic institutions in Ghana has taken many twists and turns due to the persistent military interventions in politics, as part of the third-wave of democratization, in 1992, under Ghana’s Fourth Republic, a new democratic system was re-introduced in the country under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government. The opening of political spaces for the political parties and civil society organizations in the last two decades has witnessed the resurgence of political parties of different sizes and ideological orientation under various political traditions, which has led to the strengthening of Ghana’s party system. This, in turn, has immensely facilitated the country’s democratic development, which was evidenced in the 2000 power alternation that led to the election of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to power. Since the emergence of the third-wave of democratization, there have been numerous theoretical approaches by democratic transition and consolidation theorists on the role of political parties in the nurturing and consolidation of democracy in the third-wave countries. This study examines the internal organization of parties and their role in Ghana’s democratic transition and consolidation. On the basis of the evidence presented in this study, it can be concluded that while the political parties have been the bedrock for Ghana’s democratic transition and consolidation processes, there are a number of key issues such as internal party democracy and candidate selection processes that needed to be resolved by the political parties in order to strengthen Ghana’s democratic consolidation process. i Acknowledgements The successful completion of this study would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of a considerable number of people, some of whom I may not be able to identify individually. I wish to express my most profound sense of appreciation and gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Bruce Berman of the Political Studies Department, Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, for his time and incisive comments, which ensured the timely completion of this research. His comments gave me a deeper insight into the subject area. I am also grateful to Professor Catherine Conaghan of the Department of Political Studies, Queen’s University who served as my co- supervisor for her excellent advice and comments. Much thanks also go to Dr. Peter Arthur, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University and Professor Henry Veltmeyer, IDS and Sociology, Saint Mary’s University for their useful suggestions in all aspects of my work, and Professor David Elders of the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University for his encouragement. I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to my parents, Professor Dominic Kwaku Fobih and Madam Agnes Fynn, and my cousin and his wife, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Kutin for their support in my education, which has contributed immensely to realizing my dream, and for making me believe that in life, with determination and strong will power, anything is possible. Other members of my family who deserve to be thanked include Joyce Manu, Nick Papa Fobih, Bobby Fobih, Jocelyn Addai, and Linda Fobih for their support. I also wish to thank Drs. Tony and Felicia Eghan and Dr. Sam Asiedu for their encouragement. Barbara Murphy and Karen Vandermey in the Department of Political Studies – Queen’s University, also deserve to be thanked for their assistance. I am grateful to all the interviewees in Ghana who willingly participated in the study and Professor Addo- Obeng, Vice Chancellor, University of Cape Coast for his immense support. Their cooperation and assistance enabled me to complete the research as scheduled. Finally I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the administrators of the Dean’s Travel Grant, and the Tim Franks Research Travel Award, at Queen’s University, for their financial support, which enabled me to travel to Ghana to do the fieldwork. It should be noted that the ideas and any shortcomings in this study are entirely mine; none of the above-mentioned persons is responsible. ii To Joyce, Candida, Papa, Bobby, Jeff and Jessica iii Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………. i Acknowledgements…………………………………............................................... ii Dedication……………………………………………………................................. iii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………….......... iv List of Tables………………………………………………………………………. viii List of Figures………………………………………………………………. xiii Abbreviations and Acronyms……………………………………………… ix Maps……………………………………………………………………………….. xiii Chapter One: Introduction Introduction………………………………………………………………............... 1 Statement of the Problem and Research Question: Political Parties and Democratic Development…………………………………………………………. 3 Chapter Outline………………………………………………………...................... 5 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework: Review of the Literature on the Democratic Transition, Consolidation and Party Development Theories Introduction……………………………………………………………................... 9 Comparative Perspectives on Democratic Transition and Consolidation Theories.. 11 Democratic Transition Theories………………………………………….......... 11 Combined Confrontation and Negotiation Theory……………………....... 12 Institutional Theory……………………………………………………….. 15 Negotiated Transition……………………………………………………... 18 Internationalists……………………………………………….................... 21 Constraints of Neo-liberalism as a Weakness of the Internationalist Theory…………………………………………………………………….. 22 Democratic Consolidation Theories………………………………................... 26 Behavioural Dimension: The State, Institutions and Regime Performance.. 29 Attitudinal Level: Promoting Socialization, Trust and Cooperation……... 32 Constitutional Level: Strengthening Civil-Military Relations, Legitimacy and Institutionalization of the Political System……………… 33 Examining the Democratic Transition and Consolidation Theories…………… 40 Party Development: A Conceptual Framework……………………………………. 47 Models and Concepts of Party Development………………………………….. 47 Party Institutionalization and Party Development………………................ 50 Party Organization and Representation Functions……………... ………… 52 Party Behaviour and Party Development…………………………………. 54 Democratization and Party Development…………………………………. 57 Analysis of the Party Development Theories………………………………….. 60 Methodology……………………………………………………………………….. 61 Limitations of the Methodology……………………………........................ 71 iv Chapter Three: Ghana’s Political History and the Road to the 1992 Democratic Transition Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 75 From Authoritarianism to Multi-Party Democracy in Ghana……………………… 76 External Pressure for Democratic Transition………………………........................ 79 Internal Agitation for Democratic Change…………………………........................ 85 The Origin and Role of Civil Society in Ghana’s Democracy………………… 85 Civil Society as a Destabilizing Force to Democracy in Ghana………….. 92 Historical Perspectives on the Development of the Party System and Democracy in Ghana…………………………………………………………... 97 The Roots of Ghana’s Party System…………………………………………… 97 Political Party Traditions and Ideology…………………………....................... 99 Political Parties and the 1992 Democratic Transition………………………… 104 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. 105 Chapter Four: Political Parties and Democratic Transition: The 1992 and 1996 Elections under the Fourth Republic Introduction………………………………………………………………............... 108 The Long Journey to the Evolution of Multi-Party Democracy in Ghana………… 109 Modalities for the 1992 Democratic Transition and Elections in Ghana………….. 111 The 1992 Election and Its Aftermath……………………………………………… 112 The 1992 Election’s Disconcerting Outcome and the Issue of NDC Legitimacy………………………………………………………………. 116 The 1996 Election and the Electoral Reforms……………………………………... 127 The Establishment of an Independent Electoral Commission…………….. 128 The Formation of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee…………………... 132 Introduction of Election Monitoring by some Civic Groups……………... 135 Establishment of the National Media Commission and the Role of the Media…………………………………………………………. 137 The Outcome of the 1996 Election and Pre and Post Election Problems……… 141 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. 147 Chapter Five: Political Parties and Democratic Consolidation: The 2000 and 2004 Elections Introduction………………………………………………………………………... 149 The 2000 Election and the Question of Continuity or Change: Ghana’s Democracy at the Crossroads……………………………………………………… 150 The Emergence of the NPP Government: Getting the Politics Right................. 150 The 2004 Election: Continuing the Trend toward Democratic Consolidation…….. 155 Reasons for the Success of the 2000 and 2004 Elections……………............... 159 Parties Role in Electoral Reforms and Democratic Consolidation.............
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