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Ghana POLITICAL DYNAMICS UNDER THE FOURTH REPUBLIC
Launching the Fourth Republic
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Jerry Rawlings being sworn in as president of the Fourth
Republic of Ghana, January 1993
Courtesy Embassy of Ghana, Washington
The coming into force of the new constitution with the
inauguration of the Fourth Republic and the installation of Jerry
Rawlings as the first popularly elected president of Ghana on
January 7, 1993, opened a new chapter in Ghana. In spite of the
heat of partisan politics, the country's political climate remained
encouragingly peaceful on the whole. There were clear indications
that both the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and
opposition parties and groups as well as the general public were
committed to making constitutional democracy work.
The new government faced several challenges in early 1993. One
of the most serious, of course, was the problem of persistent and
widespread economic hardship. Another was the institutionalization
of democratic practice and constitutionalism in a de facto singleparty parliament that resulted from the opposition boycott of
parliamentary elections. In boycotting the elections, the main
opposition parties, who together received about 40 percent of the
total vote in the presidential election, denied themselves not only
potential cabinet appointments but also any direct representation
in parliament and any opportunity for real power-sharing.
This was regrettable, because throughout Ghana's
postindependence history, the legislature has been the weakest of
the three branches of government. Without sitting in parliament,
the opposition could hardly constitute an effective shadow cabinet
or function as a credible government-in-waiting. The creation of a
new voters' register and a national individual identification
system as called for by the opposition, the need for which Rawlings
publicly acknowledged, would also help build a more effective and
durable multiparty democracy. A step in this direction came in
early 1994 when the National Electoral Commission, created in 1993,
set up the Inter-Party Advisory Committee to advise it on electoral
issues. This gesture has helped dispel the opposition's view that
the electoral commission is a pro-government body.
Since the 1992 elections, the opposition parties, notably the
NPP led by Adu Boahen, have sought to prove their commitment to
constitutionalism by organizing public rallies, peaceful
demonstrations, and press conferences. They have been aided by the
emergence of a vigorous private press and by state-controlled media
that have sought to report the views of opposition groups. The
opposition also has chosen to go to court against alleged breaches
of the constitution rather than to resort to confrontation and
violence. Indeed, the NPP has urged its supporters to familiarize
themselves with their constitutional rights, to criticize the
government when it is wrong, and, whenever necessary, to resort to
the courts and not to violence.
Such tactics on the part of the opposition are consistent with
the principal concerns raised by Rawlings at the inauguration of
the Fourth Republic. In his presidential address, Rawlings called
for consultation and cooperation with all political groups in the
country. He said that the NDC government would continue to reach
out to the opposition parties that had boycotted the elections
because it was the government's aim to establish a culture of
tolerance, consultation, and consensus-building based on mutual
respect.
In his address, Rawlings also indicated the basic orientation
of his government. He emphasized that the condition of the national
economy "must be the foundation of Ghana's democratic aspirations
and remained the government's greatest challenge." He noted that
his government was determined to continue the Economic Recovery
Program (ERP) and that the new constitutional order could not be
divorced from the changes brought about by the 31st December 1981
Revolution. In addition, he remarked that he bore no personal
grudge against any person or any group (having in mind the pre- and
postpresidential election disturbances and violence) and invited
others to adopt the same attitude.
Rawlings assured the armed forces that they would remain
actively involved in all national endeavors and also indicated that
Ghana's role in world affairs would not change. The continuity in
domestic, economic, and foreign policy that Rawlings stressed is
reflected in the government's ministerial and other appointments.
For example, at the end of May 1993, twenty-one of thirty-five
ministers had been secretaries under the former PNDC government;
many of them held the same portfolios that they had previously
held.
Despite some positive steps toward national reconciliation,
part of the opposition continued to be distrustful of the new
administration. In the view of these critics, the PNDC was still in
power, and, accordingly, they referred to the new administration as
"P/NDC" or "(P)NDC." Some members of the opposition also saw the
new parliament as merely a rubber-stamp of the ruling NDC
administration. The reappointment of numerous PNDC secretaries to
the new NDC administration as well as the NDC pledge of continuity
in economic and social policy confirmed the worst fears of the
opposition. The same could be said of a presidential order in
January 1993 to the effect that persons who had been in office as
PNDC secretaries for ministries, regions, or districts should
continue in their offices to avoid the breakdown of the machinery
of government. As the opposition was quick to point out, the
presidential order technically violated the constitution; however,
given the extenuating circumstances created by the postponement of
the parliamentary elections, the order was probably unavoidable.
Data as of November 1994
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