Dealing with Ghana ' s Winner-Takes-All Politics: the Case for an Independent Parliament

Abstract

The paper discusses how Winner-Takes-All politics in Ghana is promoted by the practice of appointing ministers from parliament. Having won elections and "taken it all", Ghana ' s 1992 Constitution mandates the President to appoint majority of his ministers from parliament. This cripples parliament as it inter alia, makes it subservient to the executive, thereby sacrificing parliamentary oversight responsibility as well as objectivity during parliamentary debates. The imbalance of power created between the executive and legislature, makes the executive too powerful and accentuates the feeling of marginalization associated with winner-takes-all politics. Thus the paper critically examines in detail, the specific and the peculiar challenges and dangers associated with the practice of appointing ministers from parliament in Ghana. It recommends measures to strengthen parliament to play its role as a countervailing authority to the powers of the executive as well as reduce the feeling of marginalization associated with Winner-Takes-All politics.