The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact

George Asekere

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13

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The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact

George Asekere

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 1)

Received: 6 February 2021 Accepted: 19 February 2021 Published: 4 March 2021

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Abstract

Ghanaians went to the polls on 7 December 2020, for the 8^th successive time since the return to constitutional rule in 1993, to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament. The incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo defeated former President John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress, to secure a second term mandate, on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. In the Parliamentary race, both parties secured 137 seats each with one independent seat. The outcome of the elections, therefore, did not follow the same trend as those held in Ghana in 1992/93, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 in which a victorious party won the presidential and secured majority of the seats in parliament. The outcome of the polls also saw a change in the country's governance system where for the first time, the Speaker of Parliament came from the opposition party. Also, National Democratic Congress, for the first time, officially rejected the outcome of the polls and mounted a challenge in the country’s apex court. The author relied on the qualitative method to examine the process of the conduct of the 2020 general elections, the issues, outcome and analysis of the voting pattern and its implications for electoral politics in Ghana. The paper revealed that the Ghanaian electorate are rational actors who reward hard work and punish mediocracy and not based on destructive ethnic voting. Also, it reiterates the need for vigilance at both the polling stations and collation centres to ensure undisputed elections and to consolidate the gains in Ghana’s electoral politics.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13
Page(s)	15-27
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Election, Electoral Reforms, New Patriotic Party, National Democratic Congress, Akufo-Addo, Mahama

References

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George Asekere. (2021). The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact. Social Sciences, 10(1), 15-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13

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George Asekere. The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact. Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(1), 15-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13

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George Asekere. The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact. Soc Sci. 2021;10(1):15-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13,
  author = {George Asekere},
  title = {The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {15-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20211001.13},
  abstract = {Ghanaians went to the polls on 7 December 2020, for the 8th successive time since the return to constitutional rule in 1993, to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament. The incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo defeated former President John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress, to secure a second term mandate, on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. In the Parliamentary race, both parties secured 137 seats each with one independent seat. The outcome of the elections, therefore, did not follow the same trend as those held in Ghana in 1992/93, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 in which a victorious party won the presidential and secured majority of the seats in parliament. The outcome of the polls also saw a change in the country's governance system where for the first time, the Speaker of Parliament came from the opposition party. Also, National Democratic Congress, for the first time, officially rejected the outcome of the polls and mounted a challenge in the country’s apex court. The author relied on the qualitative method to examine the process of the conduct of the 2020 general elections, the issues, outcome and analysis of the voting pattern and its implications for electoral politics in Ghana. The paper revealed that the Ghanaian electorate are rational actors who reward hard work and punish mediocracy and not based on destructive ethnic voting. Also, it reiterates the need for vigilance at both the polling stations and collation centres to ensure undisputed elections and to consolidate the gains in Ghana’s electoral politics.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact
AU  - George Asekere
Y1  - 2021/03/04
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 15
EP  - 27
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13
AB  - Ghanaians went to the polls on 7 December 2020, for the 8th successive time since the return to constitutional rule in 1993, to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament. The incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo defeated former President John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress, to secure a second term mandate, on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. In the Parliamentary race, both parties secured 137 seats each with one independent seat. The outcome of the elections, therefore, did not follow the same trend as those held in Ghana in 1992/93, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 in which a victorious party won the presidential and secured majority of the seats in parliament. The outcome of the polls also saw a change in the country's governance system where for the first time, the Speaker of Parliament came from the opposition party. Also, National Democratic Congress, for the first time, officially rejected the outcome of the polls and mounted a challenge in the country’s apex court. The author relied on the qualitative method to examine the process of the conduct of the 2020 general elections, the issues, outcome and analysis of the voting pattern and its implications for electoral politics in Ghana. The paper revealed that the Ghanaian electorate are rational actors who reward hard work and punish mediocracy and not based on destructive ethnic voting. Also, it reiterates the need for vigilance at both the polling stations and collation centres to ensure undisputed elections and to consolidate the gains in Ghana’s electoral politics.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

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George Asekere

Department of Political Science Education, University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Ghana

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George Asekere. (2021). The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact. Social Sciences, 10(1), 15-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13

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George Asekere. The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact. Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(1), 15-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13

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George Asekere. The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact. Soc Sci. 2021;10(1):15-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13,
  author = {George Asekere},
  title = {The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {15-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20211001.13},
  abstract = {Ghanaians went to the polls on 7 December 2020, for the 8th successive time since the return to constitutional rule in 1993, to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament. The incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo defeated former President John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress, to secure a second term mandate, on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. In the Parliamentary race, both parties secured 137 seats each with one independent seat. The outcome of the elections, therefore, did not follow the same trend as those held in Ghana in 1992/93, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 in which a victorious party won the presidential and secured majority of the seats in parliament. The outcome of the polls also saw a change in the country's governance system where for the first time, the Speaker of Parliament came from the opposition party. Also, National Democratic Congress, for the first time, officially rejected the outcome of the polls and mounted a challenge in the country’s apex court. The author relied on the qualitative method to examine the process of the conduct of the 2020 general elections, the issues, outcome and analysis of the voting pattern and its implications for electoral politics in Ghana. The paper revealed that the Ghanaian electorate are rational actors who reward hard work and punish mediocracy and not based on destructive ethnic voting. Also, it reiterates the need for vigilance at both the polling stations and collation centres to ensure undisputed elections and to consolidate the gains in Ghana’s electoral politics.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact
AU  - George Asekere
Y1  - 2021/03/04
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 15
EP  - 27
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20211001.13
AB  - Ghanaians went to the polls on 7 December 2020, for the 8th successive time since the return to constitutional rule in 1993, to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament. The incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo defeated former President John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress, to secure a second term mandate, on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. In the Parliamentary race, both parties secured 137 seats each with one independent seat. The outcome of the elections, therefore, did not follow the same trend as those held in Ghana in 1992/93, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 in which a victorious party won the presidential and secured majority of the seats in parliament. The outcome of the polls also saw a change in the country's governance system where for the first time, the Speaker of Parliament came from the opposition party. Also, National Democratic Congress, for the first time, officially rejected the outcome of the polls and mounted a challenge in the country’s apex court. The author relied on the qualitative method to examine the process of the conduct of the 2020 general elections, the issues, outcome and analysis of the voting pattern and its implications for electoral politics in Ghana. The paper revealed that the Ghanaian electorate are rational actors who reward hard work and punish mediocracy and not based on destructive ethnic voting. Also, it reiterates the need for vigilance at both the polling stations and collation centres to ensure undisputed elections and to consolidate the gains in Ghana’s electoral politics.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download