The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval West African Ghana Empire. The empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire after the title of its Emperor, the Ghana. The empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the Almoravid General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after Almoravid rule ended, and the kingdom was later incorporated into subsequent Sahelian empires, such as the Mali Empire several centuries later. Geographically, the ancient Ghana Empire was approximately 500 miles (800 km) north and west of the modern state of Ghana, and controlled territories in the area of the Senegal River and east towards the Niger rivers, in modern Senegal, Mauritania and Mali.
POLITICAL ERA’S OF GHANA
The Political history of Ghana recounts the history of varying political systems that existed in Ghana during pre-colonial times, the colonial era and after independence. Pre-colonial Ghana was made up of several states and ethnic groups whose political system was categorized by 3 main administrative models; Centralized, Non-centralized and Theocratic states. In the colonial era, the British Empire employed different forms of government among its four territorial possessions in the Gold Coast. Indirect rule was implemented in the late 19th century after its success in Northern Nigeria. From the 1940s, native Ghanaians yearned for more autonomy. This resulted in the several constitutional reforms as well as the creation of the office of the Prime Minister in 1952.
The Gold Coast gained independence in 1957 under the legal name of Ghana. Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah was elected as the 1st President of Ghana in 1960. The government of Kwame Nkrumah won the approval of a constitutional referendum in 1964, that made Ghana a One-party state and him, president for life. The Nkrumah government was deposed in a Coup initiated by the National Liberation Council. Ghana became a Republic once more on 1 October 1969 when the National Liberation Council handed power over to civilian rule. A new constitution was drafted based on the parliamentary system of government in the United Kingdom. Between 1972 and 1979, Ghana fell under the rule of several military dictators. John Jerry Rawlings led an uprising on 4 June 1979 which transitioned the country to democratic rule by September 1979.
In 1981, John Rawlings seized the country in a Coup and the military government ruled Ghana until 1993, when a transition process was in place to hand over power from the military back to civilian rule. The 4th Republic was inaugurated on 7 January 1993.
First Republic
Between 1957 and 1960, Charles Arden-Clarke who was governor of the Gold Coast before its independence, became Governor-General and ceremonial head of state. He represented the British Monarch. Kwame Nkrumah remained Prime Minister and Head of government. In 1960, Kwame Nkrumah became president of the sovereign Gold Coast now called Ghana. The Republican constitution set up by the Nkrumah government that year further strengthened the position of President Nkrumah as the Executive president. The president was empowered to appoint and dismiss the Chief Justice. Under Article 24, the president was empowered to give assent to every bill passed by Parliament either wholly or in part, as well as reject the bill. Following a constitutional referendum on 31 January 1934, Ghana became a One-party state in 1964, with the CPP recognized as the only political party in the country. On 24 February 1966, the Nkrumah government was toppled in a military coup executed by Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka and Major Akwasi Afrifa they proclaimed the establishment of the National Liberation Council (NLC) which became the subsequent government of the country.
Second Republic
The National Liberation Council established many commissions and advisory committees to make policies and engage with civil society. Various committees were assigned to areas such as the economy, public relations, foreign relations, law, farming, and the structure of government itself (which did indeed undergo frequent reorganization). Regional and local commissioners were replaced by “management committees”; administrative districts were consolidated from 168 to 47.The management committees were constituted mostly by civil servants as well as one private citizen nominated by the police. Many personnel from the old councils participated in the new committees.
The NLC certified its plans to transfer power to civilian rule. It lifted the ban on political activities in Ghana in May 1969. A date was fixed for general elections in order to hand over to civilian rule on 1 October 1969. Five political parties participated in the August 29 elections. Of these, the largest were the Progress Party, led by K.A. Busia, and the National Alliance of Liberals, led by K. A. Gbedemah. Busia and the Progress Party won the sizeable majority of seats: 105 of 140. A new constitution, passed on 15 August 1969, provided for a judiciary, a unicameral legislature, a prime minister, and a president.It introduced a parliamentary system of government similar to that of the United Kingdom. The constitution held the view that the traditional separations of power are outdated and it is the job of the President to preserve the independence of institutions. The Second Republic Constitution used a decentralized form of government, where the local administrations served as extensions to the central government, which set the local administration’s prerogative. The Second Republic began on 1 October 1969 with K.A Busia as the Prime Minister and Edward Akufo-Addo as president and ceremonial head of state.
Third Republic
The Busia administration and second Republic of Ghana came to an end in 1972, when the National Redemption Council enabled a Coup D’état and became the new government on 13 January 1972. Several military juntas took hold of administering the state between 1972 and 1979. They included the Supreme Military Council and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. The Armed Revolutionary Council led by John Jerry Rawlings rose to power in 1979 following an uprising on June 4th. The Council initiated a transition process of handing over power to a civilian government. General elections were slated for 1979. Flag bearer of the People’s National Party (Ghana) (PNP), Hilla Limann became president after winning the general election. The PNP government of Hilla Liman marked the inauguration of the Third Republic on 24 September 1979.