I talk about Ghana's system of government from executive to legislative and how elections work in the country.

1. Post author By Charlie October 22, 2020
The Government System of Ghana
theweeklyrambler.com/the-government-system-of-ghana/
Ghana is a country located in West
Africa and is bordered with the
countries of Togo, Burkina Faso and
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Ghana
also has a coast along the Gulf of
Guinea, the country’s capital city
Accra is found on this coast.
The first known permanent territory
in modern-day Ghana dates all the
way back to the 11th Century and was
called the Bono State, which was a
trading state created by the Bono
people, as the centuries rolled
through a number of Kingdoms and
Empires rose in modern day Ghana,
the most powerful were the Kingdom
of Dagbon and the Kingdom of
Ashanti or the Asante Empire.
In the 15th Century the Europeans arrived, first the Portuguese and then other
European powers who contested over the area for trading rights and who created
various colonies in modern-day Ghana, eventually the British Empire proved the final
winner, as they established control of the coast by the late 19th Century, modern-day
Ghana was divided up into four British colonial territories which were the Gold Coast,
Ashanti, Northern Territories of the Gold Coast and British Togoland, the native
peoples often fought against the British control and occupation of their lands, the War
of the Golden Stool ended 100-years of resistance against the British in the early 1900s.
But movements for independence continued and gained ground from 1947 when the
United Gold Coast Convention party was created and aimed for a goal of independence,
but internal divisions hampered it and then later the Convention People’s Party led by
Kwame Nkrumah was created in 1949 as a stronger party for independence and who
focused on more peaceful actions, it went on to win elections in 1951 and Nkrumah
became the first Prime Minister in 1952 with independence achieved in 1957 the four
colonial territories united into Ghana and the state was under the Commonwealth
Realm where they temporarily recognised the British Monarch as Head of State.
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2. A referendum led to Ghana becoming a republic and the position of Prime Minister
being abolished in 1960 with Nkrumah elected as the first President, the country
remains a part of the British Commonwealth but it is a fully independent state. A
military coup in 1966 led to the overthrow of Nkrumah and a period of unstable military
and civilian governments followed which also included a brief revival of the position of
Prime Minister and then in 1981 Jerry John Rawlings led a military junta that
suspended Ghana’s constitution and banned political parties, Rawlings then steered the
economy back on track after a decline and in 1992 a new Constitution restored multi-
party democracy and Rawlings was elected as President twice. Since then the country
has maintained multi-party democracy.
Ghana’s official language is English but at least 23 ethnic languages are also recognised
in the highly multi-ethnic country, the country’s largest ethnic group are the Akans,
with the Mole-Dagbon and Ewe making up over 10% of the population, there are also
seven further major ethnic groups. Christianity is the largest religion with the largest
Christian denomination being Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians, Islam also
makes up the 2nd largest religious group and many also hold traditional faiths. The
country’s currency is the Ghanaian cedi. Ghana’s population is over 31,260,000.
Government Type
Ghana Coat of Arms.
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3. Ghana is a Presidential Representative Parliamentary Democratic Republic where the
President is both Head of State and Head of Government. Legislative government is
made up of a single unicameral chamber called the Parliament of Ghana. Multiple
parties are allowed.
Political Parties must have a national character and cannot have its membership based
on ethnic, religious, regional or other sectional divisions. The Parties
internal organisation must also conform to democratic principles and the party must
abide by the country’s constitution.
The Executive Government
The Golden Jubilee House, Ghana’s Presidential Palace. Photo by Jessica Gardner from
Flickr. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source.
As mentioned, the President is both the country’s Head of State, meaning he/she
represents the country abroad in its foreign and diplomatic affairs, and the President is
also Head of Government which gives him/her a number of further executive privileges
to organize, appoint and direct the Government and its institutions.
The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ghana.
The President takes highest precedence, followed by the Vice-President, then the
Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana and then the Chief Justice.
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4. The Vice-President is elected alongside the President as a running mate on the same
ticket. The Vice-President is next in line to take office if the President either dies,
resigns or is removed from office, the Vice-President will then serve out the remainder
of the term. The Vice-President performs functions to aide the President and any other
powers assigned by the President to the Vice-President.
The Vice-President also acts as President during the President’s temporary absence.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana will act as President if the Vice-President
cannot or if the Vice-President is temporarily absent, if the absence of the Vice-
President who is meant to be acting as President is permanent then elections are held
within three months.
Presidential Duties and Powers
It is the duty of the President to report to Parliament at least once per year to go over all
the steps taken to realize the policy objectives of the nation listed within the country’s
constitution such as the rights of the people in basic human rights, education, work and
healthcare, political objectives such as democracy and also objectives towards a healthy
economy, cultural objectives and international relations, these objectives are the
Directive Principles of State Policy.
The President also makes various appointments to bodies and institutions of the
Government and of the State, these include the Commissioner for Human Rights and
Administrative Justice and his Deputies; the Auditor-General; District Assemblies
Common Fund Administrator; and the Chairman and members of the Public Services
Commission; Lands Commission; governing bodies of public corporations; National
Development Planning Commission; and National Council for Higher Education, all of
these are appointed with consultation of the Council of State.
The Chairman, Deputy Chairman and others members of the Electoral Commission are
also appointed by the President on advice from the Council of State.
It is the duty of the President to deliver a State of the Union address at the beginning of
a parliamentary term and before the parliament is dissolved.
The President has the Prerogative of Mercy, meaning he can pardon, permit respite,
substitute less severe form of punishment or remit a sentence either in part or whole.
These decisions are made by the President while in consultation with the Council of
State.
On diplomatic relations, the President appoints, with consultation of the Council of
State, people to represent Ghana abroad. The President also may receive foreign envoys
accredited to Ghana. The President executes or cause to be executes international
treaties, agreements and conventions which then to have effect must be ratified by the
Parliament of Ghana either via an Act or by a resolution that is support by at least one-
half of all members of Parliament.
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5. The President chairs the National Security Council which also includes the Vice-
President; Ministers for the time that hold portfolios for foreign affairs, defence,
interior, and finance as well as such other Ministers determined by the President; the
Chief of Defense Staff and two other members of the Armed Forces; the Inspecter-
General of Police and two other members of the Police Service, one of whom must be
the Commissioner of Police responsible for the Criminal Investigations Department; the
Director-General of the Prisons Service; the Director of External Intelligence; the
Director of Internal Intelligence; the Director of Military Intelligence; the
Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service; and three further persons
appointed by the President.
The President’s Government
The President appoints the Cabinet of Government. The Cabinet consists of the
President, Vice-President, and no less than ten but no more than nineteen Ministers of
State. The purpose of the Cabinet is to assist the President in determination of general
policy. There is a Secretary to the Cabinet appointed by the President.
The Cabinet is summoned by the President who presides over it or if the President is
absent the Vice-President will preside over it. The Cabinet regulates its own procedure
of its meetings.
The Ministers of State are appointed by the President with prior approval given by the
Parliament of Ghana. The Ministers of State are chosen from members of the
Parliament or from persons who are eligible to be elected to Parliament, but the
majority of Ministers of State must be chosen from Parliament members.
Deputy Ministers can be appointed by the President after consultation with the Minister
of State they will work for and after prior approval from Parliament. Deputy Ministers
can be chosen from among members of Parliament or from persons outside of
Parliament who are eligible to be elected to the Parliament.
The Attorney-General is the Government’s principle legal advisor and is also a Minister
of State by default.
It is the job of each Minister of State to run a Department of Government or perform
the duties they have been given by the President within a specific area.
The Minister of State or Deputy Minister remain in office until either the President
removes them or they happen to be elected as Speaker of the Parliament where then
they must step aside from their ministerial position.
It is important for Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers to hold the confidence of
Parliament otherwise they may be removed by Parliament via a vote of censure. For this
motion there must be seven days’ notice before introduction and it must be signed by at
least one-third of all members of Parliament. The motion is then debated within
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6. fourteen days and the Minister in questions has a right to be heard in defense. If the
motion is passed by a two-thirds majority then the Minister is question will either resign
or be removed from office by the President.
Council of State
The Council of State exists to counsel the President in the performance of his/her
functions. The President can also send a bill passed by Parliament to the Council of
State for consideration and possible amendment.
Its members are both appointed by the President in consultation with the Parliament of
Ghana, elected as provided by in the constitution or is a member as a privilege of
holding a certain office. Those appointed by the President in consultation with
Parliament include a member who was formerly Chief Justice; a member who was
formerly Chief of Defence Staff of the country’s Armed Forces; and a member who was
previously Inspecter-General of the Police.
The President of the National House of Chiefs is a member. There is also one
representative elected via an electoral college from each region of Ghana, the electoral
college comprises representatives from each of the districts in the region nominated by
the District Assemblies in the region.
Eleven further members are appointed by the President.
The Chairman of the Council of State is elected from among themselves.
The terms of the members lasts 4-years alongside the President. Members can be
removed by the President for reasons such as misbehavior or infirmity of body or mind
with the backing of Parliament.
The Council of States must hold meetings at least 4-times per year but can also be
requested to hold a meeting by the President or Parliament or by at least five members
of the Council itself.
Judicial Appointments
The Chief Justice is appointed by the President in consultation with the Council of State
and with approval of Parliament.
Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President on advice of the Judicial
Council, in consultation with the Council of State and with approval of the Parliament.
Justices of the Court of Appeal, High Court and Chairmen of Regional Tribunals are
appointed by the President on advice of the Judicial Council.
The Judicial Council includes the Chief Justice as its Chairman; the Attorney-General; a
Justice of the Supreme Court who is nominated by the justices of that court; a Justice of
the Court of Appeal who is nominated by the justices of that court; a Justice of the High
Court nominated by the justices of that court; two representatives of the Ghana Bar
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7. Association one of whom has at least 12-years standing as a lawyer; a representative of
the Chairmen of Regional Tribunals nominated by the Chairmen; a representative of the
lower courts or tribunals; the Judge Advocate-General of the Armed Forces; the Head of
the Legal Directorate of the Police Service; the Editor of the Ghana Law Reports; a
representative of the Judicial Service Staff Association nominated by that association; a
Chief nominated by the National House of Chiefs; and four further persons who are not
lawyers and who are appointed by the President.
Emergency Provisions
The President, acting in accordance with the Council of State (body explained later) can
declare a state of emergency via a proclamation. States of Emergencies can be activated
for periods of exceptional or extraordinary situations such as civil violence, imminent
terrorist activities/threats, natural disasters and other severe reasons, it allows certain
rights and guarantees to be temporarily suspended and also allows increased powers to
authorities and the Government to help bring a situation back under control within as
speedy time as possible.
The facts and circumstances for the proclamation are placed before the Parliament of
Ghana by the President, and within 72-hours the Parliament will then decide if the
proclamation for a State of Emergency shall be allowed to continue or whether it should
be revoked, the decision of Parliament must be abided by the President.
The State of Emergency will automatically end after a period of 7-days unless the
Parliament of Ghana votes to extend the period, if extended it can last for up to three
further months and can only be extended from then on by Parliament for up to a further
month at a time. A State of Emergency can be ended by the Parliament at any time.
Presidential Removal
The President can be removed from office for a number of reasons including acting in
willful violation of the presidential oath of office or oath of allegiance or willful violation
of the constitution or if the President has conducted themselves in a manner that is
going to bring or is likely to bring the office of President into disrepute, ridicule or
contempt; or prejudicial or inimical to the economy or security of the state; or if the
President is incapable of performing the functions of their office due to infirmity of
body or mind.
To remove the President for one or more of the above reasons there must be a notice of
writing that is signed by at least one-third of all members of the Parliament of
Ghana and stating the reasons for an investigation to take place.
If the removal is for willful violation or one of the non-medical reasons then the Chief
Justice will summon a tribunal to investigate which consists of the Chief Justice as
Chairman and also include the four most senior justices of the Supreme Court and they
will decide over the case for removal of the President.
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8. If the removal is for medical infirmity of body or mind then the Chief Justice in
consultation with the head of the Ghana Health Services, will summon a medical board
consisting of no less than four eminent medical specialists and the President will then
be informed. Within fourteen days the President is invited for examination of the
medical board. The medical board will eventually decide if there are grounds for
removal.
The President has the right of a defense in either tribunal or medical board either
through himself, a lawyer or other chosen expert.
The findings of the tribunal or medical board will be submitted to the Speaker of the
Parliament of Ghana by the Chief Justice and a copy sent to the President. Within
fourteen days of Parliament receiving the findings, will decide on a moving a resolution
to remove the President. If such a resolution is supported by at least two-thirds of the
members of the Parliament then the President will immediately cease to hold office.
The Legislative Government
Meeting place of the Parliament of Ghana. Photo by GuidoSohne from Flickr. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Source.
The Parliament of Ghana is the unicameral chamber that makes up the legislative
government, it may have no less than 140 members, currently it has 275 members. The
main job of the Parliament is to have legislation introduced to it and for it to be debated,
possibly amended, and then either passed or rejected. The Parliament also has a
number of other jobs, many of which have been mentioned in the above sections.
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9. The Speaker is elected by the members of Parliament either from among themselves or
a person outside of Parliament but who is still qualified to have been elected to
Parliament. It is the duty of the Speaker to represent the Parliament of Ghana in a fair
and unified manner, to enforce parliamentary rules and orderly debate and to conduct
the business of Parliament.
Two Deputy Speakers are elected by the members of Parliament from among
themselves and they cannot be from the same political party.
Members who are elected Speaker vacate their parliamentary seat. It is possible to
remove the Speaker via a resolution that is supported by at least three-quarters of all
members of Parliament.
Bills passed by Parliament go on to the President to be given assent, he must give assent
within 7-days unless he has reffered the Bill to the Council of State. If the President
refuses to give assent and wants the bill to be reconsidered he must give reasons on
what provisions of the Bill to reconsider and any recommendations for amendments.
Such a veto by the President can be overriden by a vote of two-thirds of its members
and then the President must assent to the bill.
There are restrictions on the amendment or introduction of financial bills.
15-percent of members can summon Parliament to a special session. Parliament after
having been dissolved for an election can be recalled by the President under
extraordinary circumstances such as a state of war. During a state of war the Parliament
can extend its parliamentary term by a vote of two-thirds of members.
Functions
Standing committees and other committees are appointed for the effective functioning
of Parliament. All members of Parliament will be a member of at least one Standing
Committee. Other committees can be appointed such as for inquiry into ministries or
departments. The composition of the committees must match the composition of
parliament as much as possible.
Committees for Inquiry and Investigation have special powers to enforce attendence,
compelling production of documents and issuing a request to examine witnesses
abroad.
The Electoral System
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10. Ghana, administrative divisions 2018. Image made by NordNordWest from Wikimedia.CC
BY-SA 3.0. . Source.
Presidential elections happen every 4-years. The President is elect via a two-round
absolute majority system where a candidate needs an absolute majority to win in the
first round, otherwise the two highest candidates move to a 2 round which is one by
simple majority.
nd
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11. To become a candidate one much be a citizen of Ghana from birth, be at least 40-years-
old, and is eligible for election to Parliament and has not been disqualified from it. To
become a candidate the person requires two signatures of registered voters from each
district assembly authority.
Parliamentary elections happen every 4-years to elect all members of the Parliament of
Ghana. Members are elected from single-seat constituencies using a first-past-the-post
system.
To be a candidate for the Parliament of Ghana one must be a citizen of Ghana who is
registered to vote and at least 21-years-old, been resident in Ghana for at least 10-years
and been resident in the constituency they choose to run in for at least 5-years. They
must have paid all taxes or made arrangements for outstanding tax to be paid on time.
A number of things disqualify someone for running as a candidate for Parliament, this
includes owing allegiance to another country; has been adjudged or otherwise declared
bankrupt without being discharged or is of unsound mind or detained as a criminal
lunatic; convicted of high crime or treason or against security of the state, fraud,
dishonesty or moral turpitude, any offense punishable by death or 10 or more years in
prison, breaking any electoral laws; found guilty by a commission or committee of
inquiry for certain offenses. Being a member of most Services or being a Chief also
disqualifies from running for this office.
Any referendums that happen require at least 35% of registered voters to vote in it and
at least 70% voting in favour of the issue at hand, without this the referendum is not
determined and has no effect on the issue at hand. One person can serve a maximum of
two terms as President.
To vote one must be a citizen of Ghana who is at least 18-years-old and who is of sound
mind.
Sources
The sources for this post come from Ghana’s 1992 constitution with amendments
through to 1996 (constituteproject.org) and so it should be as up to date as possible but
of course there is a chance I may have missed out some things or misinterpreted other
things and of course the constitution can be amended and so this may become outdated,
and so it important that if using this in a serious capacity you perform cross-research.
Amendment of the constitution is proposed by the Parliament of Ghana, consideration
requires a referral to the Council of State, amendments to “entrenched” articles of the
constitution require a national referendum with at least 40% participation of registered
voters and 75% who approve, if successful there will then be a vote in Parliament which
requires a two-thirds majority to adopt and then assent from the President. If an article
that is not entrenched is being amended then a national referendum is not required.
Next up will be the government system of Greece.
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