Ghana
was formerly known as the Gold Coast. Ghana got her independence on the 6th March
1957 from the British and become a commonwealth republic on 1 July 1960. The
political system of Ghana takes place in a framework of a presidential representative
democratic republic.
As a result of this the President of Ghana is both head of
the State and Head of Government of a multi-party system. The Ghanaian
political system also has the government divided into three different branches,
i.e. the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. The parliament is
unicameral in nature.
The Constitutional System
The constitution of Ghana was approved on 28th
April, 1992, though the country got its freedom long time back on 6th March,
1957. The constitution of Ghana's political system declares Ghana to be a
unitary republic with sovereignty residing in the Ghanaian people. it calls for
a system of checks and balances, with powers shared between the president, its
unicameral parliament, the council of state, and its independent judiciary. The
constitution stipulates the concept of power sharing.
Executive Branch
Being a member of the Commonwealth of Nations,
the President is the head of the state and also the government. He is the real
head of the country with all the power resting in the hands. The president also
nominates members subject to approval by Parliament for the post of Council of
Ministers. The Vice-president, like the president is also elected for a term of
four years.
Legislative Branch
All legislative functions of Ghana's political
system are vested in the Parliament. It has a unicameral house with 230 members
and a Speaker. The members of the Parliament are popularly elected by Universal
Adult Suffrage for a term of four years. Due to the Duverger's law, the
political system of Ghana has a two-party system. Elections have been taking
place every four years since 1992 alongside the Presidential election,
generally on 7 December.
Judicial Branch
The judicial systems of the Ghanaian
government are independent from the two other branches of government. The
Supreme Court is at the apex with broad powers of judicial review. It has the
power to rule on the constitutionality of any legislation or executive action
at the request of any aggrieved citizen as it is authorized by the
Constitution. This system of hierarchy of courts is largely derived from the British
judicial system. The hierarchy is composed of the Supreme Court of Ghana, the
Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice, regional tribunals, and such lower
courts or tribunals as Parliament may establish jurisdiction over all civil and
criminal matters is held by the court.
Four
successful elections in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 have strengthened the
effectiveness of key national institutions, enhanced investor confidence and
anchored the new economy in an environment for positive growth. Ghana has a
high-profile peacekeeping role; troops have been deployed in Ivory Coast,
Liberia, Sierra Leone and DR Congo.
Ghana is active in the United Nations and many of its specialized agencies, as well as the World Trade Organization, the Nonaligned Movement, the African Union (AU), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Generally, Ghana follows the consensus of the Nonaligned Movement and the AU on economic and political issues that do not directly affect its own interests.
Ghana has played an increasingly active role in sub-regional affairs including prominent roles in ECOWAS and the African Union. Ghana is a critically important peacekeeping partner; it is the largest African peacekeeping contributor nation to multinational peacekeeping operations (PKO) and the sixth-largest among all peacekeeping contributing nations.
Source: UNDP.org, CIA World FactBook, Wikipedia.org
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