Minor parties and democratic governance in Ghana's fourth republic, 1992 - 2022

Abstract

Despite the rising interest in party politics in Africa, minor party activism remains largely understudied, particularly in the context of plurality-based two-party systems. This study therefore examined minor parties in Ghana’s emergent two-party system (1992-2022), with the aim of investigating their continued motivation for electoral competition; the constraints on their electoral success; and their contributions to Ghana’s democratic governance. The study was based on a multiple-case study research design, relying on semi-structured in-depth interviews and observation to generate qualitative data on three minor parties in Ghana, namely, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Progressive People’s Party (PPP). Findings show that despite the minor parties’ limited chance of winning elections, the rationale for competing is largely driven by the affordability of the minor party ticket, opportunities for party patronage, ideological inclination, pursuit of political recognition, amongst others. The identified constraints on the electoral success of the minor parties are grounded predominantly in both institutional and non-institutional factors. The institutional constraints generally include the statutory rules, established norms and conventions pertaining to Ghanaian politics which tend to hinder minor parties’ development; whereas the non-institutional constraints are mostly non-statutory, but prevalent endogenous and exogenous factors, which inhibit the minor parties’ development and electoral viability. Although the electoral impact of the minor parties in Ghana is indeed limited, they contribute to parliamentary enrollment; provide considerable space and alternative opportunities for citizens’ participation in political life; promote constitutionalism and rule of law; influence public policy-making; and augment democratic accountability. Whilst the minor parties are encouraged to harmonize their candidate nominations due to their shared political ideology, institutional reforms such as the adoption of a proportional representation system are recommended to augment their electoral viability and contributions to Ghana’s fourth republican democratic governance.