Candidate Selection and Nomination Methods: A Historical Review and Analysis of Presidential Primaries in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, 1992-2020

Candidate Selection and Nomination Methods: A Historical Review and Analysis of Presidential Primaries in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, 1992-2020

Gbensuglo Alidu Bukari, Cletus Kwaku Mbowura, Mathew Lobnibe Arah

This paper analyzes the selection of presidential candidates in primary elections by political parties in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. It examines the formal intra-party rules and regulations that govern primary elections for the selection of party presidential candidate, and how this enhances Ghana’s democracy. Given that interpretation is central to this paper, exploratory case design is adopted. Drawing from documented material and semi-structured interviews, the results of analysis suggest that the intra-party primary election rules and regulations of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) find expression in the electoral laws as contained in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The results show that there is no much variation in the intra-party rules of the two parties in their selection of presidential candidates. Also, both the NDC and NPP use closed system of primaries (this involved only registered party members who are elected and appointed executives, party appointees and party elders). The only variation is explained in the nomination and filing fees. The results of analysis further explained that the NDC and NPP have both departed from ‘National Delegates’ Congress System of presidential candidate selection to a ‘Nationwide Voting System.’The study also revealed that though, the NDC adopted an open primary system in 2015, it has since reversed to the closed system of primary election in 2019. The study concludes that the ways in which political parties select candidates play a crucial role in shaping political debates and politics in Ghana. The paper therefore recommends that the intra-party politics, primary …

2022

https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=FihyGVkAAAAJ&citation_for_view=FihyGVkAAAAJ:roLk4NBRz8UC

English