| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
7 December 2012 |
| Purpose of elections |
President John Dramani Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the elections with 148 seats, increasing its share of the legislature from 50 to 54 per cent. It pledged to work for economic growth and better energy supplies. The New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo took 123 seats, having campaigned to provide free secondary education.
Mr. Mahama, who had assumed the presidency in July 2012 following the death of President John Atta Mills, won the presidential elections with 50.7, narrowly beating Mr. Akufo-Addo who took 47.8%. The latter filed a petition at the Supreme Court to challenge the results, citing irregularities. The Election Commission denied the allegation and filed a separate petition at the Supreme Court, requesting the details of the irregularities.
Commonwealth observers stated that the 2012 elections had met "many of the benchmarks for democratic elections, though aspects of the administrative system and the environment for the polls can still be improved further". The elections followed heated debate over the creation of 45 new constituencies prior to the 2012 parliamentary elections (see note).
Note:
Article 47(5) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates "The Electoral Commission shall review the division of Ghana into constituencies at intervals of not less than seven years, or within twelve months after the publication of the enumeration figures after the holding of a census of the population of Ghana, whichever is earlier, and may, as a result, alter the constituencies."
The statutory number of parliamentary seats had previously been raised in 2004 from 200 to 230. In June 2012, the Electoral Commission's announcement of 45 new constituencies (raising the total to 275) attracted widespread criticism from the NPP and civil society groups, as possibly favouring the NDC. The creation of the new seats was approved by parliament in October. |
Date of previous elections: 7 December 2008
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 6 January 2013
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: December 2016
Number of seats at stake: 275 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 1,332 (1,198 men, 134 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 10.1%
Number of parties contesting the election: 16
Number of parties winning seats: 3
Alternation of power: No
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: National Democratic Congress (NDC)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 7 January 2013
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Edward Doe Adjaho (NDC)
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 7 December 2012 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
14'031'793
11'246'982 (80.15%)
|
|
Notes
|
Turnout figures for the presidential elections. |
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
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| National Democratic Congress (NDC) |
148
|
|
|
|
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| New Patriotic Party (NPP) |
123
|
|
|
|
|
| Convention People's Party (CPP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
245
30
10.91%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
Parliament (08.02.2013, 09.03.2013, 11.03.2013)
http://www.ec.gov.gh |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
