Whose Catalyst? Party Politics and Democracy in the Fourth Republic: From Theory to Denial

2010 ◽  
pp. 61-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adigun Agbaje
Keyword(s):  
Party Politics ◽  
Fourth Republic

Presidentialism and the Parties in the French Fifth Republic

1975 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wright Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Party Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Fifth Republic ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Fourth Republic

PARTY POLITICS UNDER THE FIFZH REPUBLIC HAVE BEEN COMPLEX AND confused. New parties such as the Independent Republicans and the Centre Démocrate have appeared, and old ones such as the MRP and the CNIP-two of the great pivotal parties of the Fourth Republic - have disappeared as national forces. The Gaullists have grown, the communists have stagnated, the radicals have declined, and the socialists have experienced dramatically changing fortunes. The observer will be bewildered by the appearance and disappearance of party coalitions, by the political dissensions within the parties, by the bitter squabbles between parties which are in nominal alliance, and by the Quixotic waverings of certain party leaders - veritable weathercocks susceptible to the slightest political draught.

Ethnicity in Electoral Politics in Ghana: Colonial Legacies and the Constitution as Determinants

2020 ◽  
pp. 089692052094326
Author(s):  
Clement Sefa-Nyarko
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Design ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Political Divide ◽  
Indirect Rule

This paper assesses political allegiances in Ghana, positioning its ethno-political divide into the historical contexts of institutional design and colonialism in Africa. It argues that whilst the colonial policy of Indirect Rule solidified ethnicity in Africa, post-colonial governments used it differently, with varying effects on institutional design and state-building. In concert with other constitutional provisions, Ghana’s Article 55 of 1992 Constitution has curtailed extreme ethnic politics through the limit it places on ethnicity in party politics. Whilst outlawing ethnicity in politics, the constitution provides other depoliticised outlets for expressing diversity, especially through decentralisation and legitimisation of chieftaincy institutions. Despite these safeguarding provisions, the Asantes and Ewes have consistently taken entrenched political positions since 1992, and this article explicates some of the drivers using longitudinal election results. It draws on institutional design complexities in multi-ethnic societies in Africa to propose lessons and convey implications for Ghana’s Fourth Republic Constitution.

Tradition and Transformation: Democracy and the Politics of Popular Power in Ghana

1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell Owusu
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Popular Power ◽  
Democratic Constitution ◽  
National Defence

In April 1992, after nearly 11 years of military rule in Ghana, a draft democratic constitution of the Fourth Republic was overwhelmingly approved in a national referendum.1 The ban on multi-party politics was lifted by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Government in the following month. An independent interim National Electoral Commission was established, and a hotly contested presidential election in 200 constituencies monitored by teams of international observers was held in November 1992. After multi-party parliamentary elections to the National Assembly, boycotted unfortunately by opposition groups, the democratically elected Government of Ghana's Fourth Republic was inaugurated in January 1993.2

scholarly journals Interrogating the Nexus between Party Politics and Party Institutionalization in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfa Patrick Innocent
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Electoral Fraud ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Party Institutionalization ◽  
Democratic Stability

This article critically examines the nature of party politics in Nigeria since the inception of the Fourth Republic. It contends that party politics in Nigeria's Fourth Republic is characterised by dysfunctional evolution of political parties, lack of unity and focus, electoral fraud, lack of internal party democracy, intergovernmental disharmony, political violence, ideological deficit, gross indiscipline and elite antagonism. The article is methodologically conceptual. Relevant secondary data comprising of journal articles, textbooks, workshop papers, and national dailies were consulted. The article discovered that party politics in Nigeria's Fourth Republic is highly defective and volatile, thus forestalling party institutionalization and, by extension, democratic stability. The article concludes with recommendations on how Nigeria's party politics could be redefined to facilitate party institutionalization and improve the quality of democratic  governance

scholarly journals Internal Party Democracy and the Imperative of Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Godwin
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Democratic Consolidation ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Major Threat ◽  
Fourth Republic

Parties are regarded as sine qua non for the organization of modern democracies, as well as for democratic consolidation. The literature that explains Nigeria’s democracy since 1999 depicts infractions and instability in party politics. It is in this context that this paper maintains that the major threat to democratic consolidation in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is the absent of Internal Party Democracy (IPD). The inability of political parties to manage their internal fuss usually results in cases of defections, which portends negative consequences for democratic consolidation in Nigeria. The paper explains and provides some internal governing structures for political parties as offered by Simba. Consequently, the study historically gave an illustration of political parties in the previous republics by showing how they were bereft of internal party democracy. The paper finally calls for an urgent alternative to this kind of party politics, while the current practice should be jettisoned.

The 2000 Presidential Election and the Foundations of Party Politics

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Johnston ◽  
Michael G. Hagen ◽  
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Party Politics

The Relevance of the Judiciary in a Democratic Nigeria

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-317
Author(s):  
Osahon O. Guobadia
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Political Justice ◽  
Fourth Republic

A new constitutional democracy was established in Nigeria on 29 May 1999. This Fourth Republic was founded upon the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which unshackled the judiciary from the bondage of military decrees. This also brought excitement to the citizenry which finds expression in the belief that the judiciary, their last bastion of succour, is now poised to intervene in the inevitable tussle between might and the exercise of new democratic tenets. These tenets encompass the ideals of economic justice, political justice and social justice. 1 1 C. C. Nweze, ‘Judicial Sustainability of Constitutional Democracy in Nigeria: A Response to the Phonographic Theory of the Judicial Function’, in E. S. Nwauche and F. I. Asogwah (eds), Essays in Honour of Professor C. O. Okunkwo, (SAN) Jite Books (2000), p. 225. Against the backdrop of this reality, the article will examine the extent to which the judiciary in Nigeria has performed its constitutional role as an independent arm of government towards ensuring the observance of democratic values in a free, open, humane and civilised society.

A Review of the Electoral Process under Ghana's Fourth Republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-377
Author(s):  
Lydia A. Nkansah ◽  
Delali A. Gawu
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Electoral Cycle ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Election Results

There have been seven general elections, under Ghana's Fourth Republic, to elect presidents and members of parliament. There are laws regulating the electoral process and election results have generally been accepted and, in a few cases, challenged through the laid-down process. Elections in Ghana are nonetheless reportedly flawed with irregularities tainting the outcome and creating tensions and sometimes pockets of violence. This article examines the electoral process under Ghana's Fourth Republic, namely the adoption of regulations for each electoral cycle, voters’ registration and the voters’ register, nomination of aspirants, voting, counting of votes and declaration of the results. To ensure the integrity of the electoral process, the laws regulating elections should comply with the dictates of the procedural requirements of the rule of law and the Electoral Commission's actions must be consistent with these laws.

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