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Presidential election petitions in Ghana: A catalyst for democratic maturity

2022; Academic Journals; Volume: 16; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5897/ajpsir2021.1373

1996-0832

Akpeko Agbevade, Tweneboah-Koduah Desmond,

Politics and Society in Latin America

Ghana’s multiparty democracy continues to attract global attention. While every election comes with its dynamics, it also provides valuable lessons for the country’s democratic maturity. Drawing mainly from desk study and using Linz and Stepan’s three dimensions of democratic consolidation, the study examined how the two presidential election petitions, 2012 and 2020, have catapulted the democratic drive of the country. The paper unearthed that the Ghanaian political demagogues are largely willing to stick to the rules of the game for democratic maturity. In addition, the judiciary in their rulings upheld the results of the two respective elections as declared by the Electoral Commission. However, the actions and the inactions of the jurists and rulings in the two cases have different implications for electoral reforms and democratic maturity in Ghana. Key words: Presidential election petitions, democratic maturity, elections, Supreme Court, electoral commission, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, John Dramani Mahama,