Ghana: Democratic Transition and Consolidation

Abstract

‘Democratic transition’ was not a new experience for Ghana. The 1966 coup against Nkrumah, supported by the opposition parties, could be seen as marking the beginning of the first transition. This was completed with the 1969 election which offered electoral choice for the first time since independence, though with many members of the former regime disqualified from standing. The ensuing regime was criticised for arrogance and economic ineptitude, but on the whole it observed the letter of the constitution. The military government which overthrew it in 1972 met with relatively few pressures for democratisation during its first three years in office, possibly on account of its populist policies, improved economic conditions and a feeling that both the main political parties had now been tried and found wanting. With a deterioration in economic conditions after 1975, the greater visibility of corruption, and the attempts by the military to stay in power indefinitely by seeking public approval for a no-party state, the challenge to authoritarianism grew rapidly.