GHANA-POLITICS: Fourth Republic Sets The Pace For Democracy

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Analysis Edward Ameyibor

ACCRA, Jan 8 1997 (IPS) - When Ghana’s Fourth Republic was ushered in with a colourful ceremony by the seaside this week, the country also set the pace for democratic efforts throughout the turbulent West African region.

President Jerry Rawlings and a new corp of parliamentarians took oaths of allegiance on Tuesday which were based on service to the people.

The historic ceremony was significant because it is the first time since 1965, that an elected Parliament has been succeeded by another elected body without military intervention.

Three previous experiments at civilian rule have been terminated by military coups. In 1966, following widespread discontent at economic difficulties and alleged corruption, Ghana’s first head of state, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was deposed by the army and police.

The Second and Third Republics ended in 1972 and 1979 after only 27 months in power. Dr Kofi Busia, a former university professor, was overthrown in a military coup led by then Lt.-Col Ignatius Kutu Acheampong; and in 1979, Rawlings led a group of junior military officiers in a successful coup.

Leaders from throughout the West African region were present in the capital of Accra for Ghana’s ushering in of what some analysts view as a new era of democracy.

Present at the ceremony were Nigeria’s military ruler Sani Abacha, and the former head of state of Sierra Leone, Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, who successfully handed over power to a civilian administration last year.

There were also delegations from Guinea, Niger, Gambia, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali, all of which have transformed from military regimes to civilian governments.

Last year saw major elections not only in Ghana, but also in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Benin and Niger, which were peaceful and more transparent.

In Gambia and Niger, the men in khaki shedded their uniforms to win the elections as civilian rulers. President Matthieu Kerekou of Benin, who was ousted in 1990, also returned to power for a second term.

Nigeria and Liberia are two countries in the region struggling to return to democratic rule. Nigeria’s military hierarchy annulled the June 1993 elections in which the Nigerian civilian millionaire Chief Moshood Abiola was declared the winner.

Abiola and many other pro-democracy leaders in Nigeria have been jailed by Abacha’s regime, leading to widespread international condemnation.

The country is currently on a new programme towards civilian rule which has resulted in the registration of five political parties. Critics however observe that the programme is not on course and many doubt whether Abacha and the military will retreat to the barracks.

Liberia has also been on a collision course with democracy. Elections are expected this May in the war-torn country, if the West African Peacekeeping Force (ECOMOG) succeeds in disarming the various warlords.

The disarmanent exercise began last November and is scheduled to end on Jan. 31. Nine political parties have emerged in the country, and some 18 candidates have declared that they will contest for the presidency in May.

Among the presidential candidates are warlord Charles Taylor, Alhaji G.V. Kromah and Dr George Boley.

Sam Dokie, first deputy speaker of the transitional parliament in Monrovia, told IPS here that he is optimistic that a newly- elected government will be installed in Liberia by June 1997.

According to Dokie, the Abuja Peace Accord brokered by West African leaders last year is holding. The Accord calls for the disarming and rehabilitation of rebel soldiers and for elections in May.

The Liberian war has led to 150,000 people being killed, and the displacement of half of Liberia’s 2.6 million people. Liberia is Africa’s oldest republic, founded in 1847 by freed black slaves from the United States.

“…Life is returning to normal and business is picking up while those who fled are coming back,” Doukie says, adding that the country needs a leader who can bring about “reconciliation”.

Ghana’s journey to a Fourth Republic began in 1989 when the then revolutionary government bowing to the wind of democratic change in the world and to some extent, domestic pressure, decided to lay the foundation for a new elected government.

Retired Appeals Court Judge, Justice Daniel Francis Annan, who is currently speaker of the new parliament, began the process with public forums throughout the country to ascertain public opinion on whether the country should return to multiparty politics.

A new constitution was written and approved by a consultative assembly in 1991. The first civilian elections were held in 1992 and were won by Rawlings’ National Democratic Congress (NDC), which campaigned on the slogan of Unity, Stability and Development.

Ghana has been relatively peaceful in the turbulent West African subregion. It now advertises itself as the gateway to the West African market and a hub for investments in the region.