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| Title: | Winners, Losers and Also Rans: Money, Moral Authority and Voting Patterns in the Ghana 2000 Election |
| Author: | Nugent, Paul |
| Year: | 2001 |
| Periodical: | African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society |
| Volume: | 100 |
| Issue: | 400 |
| Period: | July |
| Pages: | 405-428 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Ghana |
| Subjects: | elections 2000 political parties Politics and Government |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/3518587 |
| 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 (NDC). This was a historic moment because it was the first time the reins of power had changed hands by means of the ballot box. A common explanation for what transpired was that the NDC had become so used to winning that it became blasé and lost touch with its popular base. In reality, the NDC was less afflicted by complacency than by internal upheaval as the retirement of President Rawlings beckoned. The NDC now fielded a Presidential candidate who did not enjoy the support of party headquarters, while the latter had itself alienated many grassroots supporters. On polling day, many traditional NDC voters either stayed at home or backed rebel candidates. Another factor explaining the NDC's defeat was the skilful campaign fought by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), whose slogan of 'Positive Change' appealed directly to the young. The article examines 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 that the NPP once again demonstrated its historic weakness in the three northerly Regions and in the Volta Region. Overall, the results reveal a pronounced ethnoregional pattern of voting. Notes, ref., sum. |
