Abstract
Ghana’s political landscape, shaped by a duopoly featuring the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) since 1992, raises questions about the impact on the country’s democracy. Examining this through Duverger’s Law, it becomes evident that the winner-takes-all electoral system in conjunction with historical factors has fostered this two-party dominance. Mainwaring and Scully’s perspectives on institutionalizing party systems further illuminate how the duopoly meets the necessary criteria to be considered an institutionalized system. Through a qualitative study and analysis of secondary data, this chapter delves into the intricacies of Ghana’s political evolution over the last 30 years, shedding light on the emergence and institutionalization of the NDC-NPP duopoly.
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Notes
- 1.
Rightists are individuals or groups who generally advocate for limited government intervention in the economy, free markets, and conservative social values.
- 2.
Leftists are individuals or groups who advocate for social equality, economic intervention, and progressive policies. They typically support government intervention in the economy to address issues such as wealth inequality, poverty, and access to essential services like healthcare and education.
- 3.
Article 55(4) states that “every political party shall have a national character, and membership shall not be based on ethnic, religious, regional or other sectional divisions”.
- 4.
Swing regions are geographic areas within a country, particularly in the context of elections, that do not have a strong historical allegiance to any one political party. These regions are considered ‘in play’ or competitive, meaning that they can potentially be won by either major political party.
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Frempong, A.K.D., Amankwah, S.O. (2024). Electoral and Party Politics in Ghana’s Fourth Republic: Ramifications of Two-Party Dominance. In: Ayee, J.R., Amoah, L.G., Alidu, S.M. (eds) Political Institutions, Party Politics and Communication in Ghana . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54744-7_6
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