Winners, Losers and Also Rans: Money, Moral Authority and Voting Patterns in the Ghana 2000 Election

Abstract

In December 2000, Ghana underwent a Parliamentary election and two rounds of Presidential voting which culminated in defeat for the ruling National Democratic Congress. This was a historic moment because it was the first time the reins of power had changed hands by means of the ballot box. This article seeks to explain how the NDC failed to capitalize on all the advantages of incumbency. Part of the answer is sought in internal wrangling over the succession to Jerry Rawlings and a failure to permit primaries for the Parliamentary nominations. The net result was that the NDC fielded a Presidential candidate who did not enjoy the support of party headquarters, while the latter had itself alienated many grass‐roots supporters. On polling day, many traditional NDC voters either stayed at home or backed rebel candidates. The other half of the answer lies in the skilful campaign fought by the New Patriotic Party, whose slogan of ‘Positive Change’ appealed very directly to the young. The article proceeds to examine the pattern of voting and argues that the minor parties were comprehensively squeezed, that the NDC lost the election in the cities and key parts of the south, and finally that the NPP once again demonstrated its historic weaknesses to the north and east of the Volta. This pattern would suggest that there is everything to fight for in 2004.

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