Ethnicity and Electoral Politics in Ghana's Fourth Republic

Abstract

Ghana since 1992, when it embarked on a period of democratic transition and consolidation, has made major progress. Important questions, however, such as the influence of ethnicity on voter alignment, have yet to be explored and answered. There is a general perception that ethnic undercurrents play a major role in elections in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, but research has focused on electoral results in specific years. Little work takes a comparative approach in examining Ghanaians’ voting patterns in the five elections that have taken place nationwide since 1992. This paper aims to contribute to the literature on Ghanaians’ voting behavior. It argues that, though voting along ethnic lines does occur, ethnicity is one of a host of variables—including economic conditions, campaign messages, perceptions of corruption—that influence voter alignment in Ghana.