Observations & Outlook on the 2nd Round Ghana Elections 2008

An Analytical Outlook

The 2008 Ghana Elections have been described by many international commentators such as the European Union, Africa Union, Commonwealth and ECOWAS Observer Missions as well as local observer mission, like the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), including the international and local media as transparent, free and fair, and most and importantly as an African country, peaceful. Congratulation goes to the people of Ghana and various stakeholders who contributed in diverse civic educations advocacy programmes on voter education.

From the 2005 Paris Declaration to the 2008 High Level Forum

The third High Level Forum (HLF3) on Aid Effectiveness initiated by the OECD was held in Accra, the capital of Ghana, early in September 2008, its objective being to assess the progress made so far in implementing the Paris Declaration of 2005 as well as to adopt a separate plan of action, the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA), to determine what should be done in the future.

Kann Kenia in Ghana nach den Wahlen Ende 2008 passieren?

In Ghana finden im Dezeber 2008 allgemeine Präsidentschafts- und Parlamentswahlen statt. Seit den Ereignissen in Kenia wird die Frage, ob Kenia auch hier passieren könnte, heiß diskutiert. Generell wird das in Abrede gestellt.

Speeches during Opening Ceremony of Chieftaincy Conference

KAF Resident Representative & German Ambassador

Workshop on Chieftaincy Institution: "Ghana@50: Resolving the Duality in Governance -The Future of Chieftaincy Institution" / 26th – 28th February 2007 / Alisa Hotel, North Ridge, Accra // Organized by: Nana Nketsia IV Trust and Centre for Indigenous Knowledge & Organisational Development (CIKOD)

Bern Guri Eulogy by Volker Moenikes

Mr. Bern Guri, Snr. Programme Officer at the KAF Ghana Country Office, leaves the Foundation at the end of 2006 in order to devote all his time to a NGO he has founded: The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD).

Political Parties and Political Participation in Ghana

by Prof. Kwame A. Ninsin

Political parties became important as instruments in Ghana’s democratic practice as early as the 1950s when the country was in transition from colonial rule to an independent sovereign nation-state. As many as 8 political parties emerged between 1954 and 1957 to participate in the struggle for self-determination against British colonial rule. Between 1969 and 1972 when the country freed itself from the first military regime, between 5 and 12 political parties were formed to join hands in the agitation to restore democratic rule in the country. In 1979 when the country had to reclaim her government from the military and place it on a democratic basis there was an explosion of political parties: 11 political parties mushroomed; by 1981 the scramble to form political parties had simmered down reducing the number to 6 that existed at various levels of engagement in the political process until the last and longest military regime usurped power from December 1981 to December 1992.To varying degrees these parties expressed different identities: especially in the transition from colonial rule to independent nationhood. Some of the political parties were formed to express sub-national or ethnic, regional, religious or supra-national identities. Invariably however, all of them were guided by a single dynamic logic: namely, the burning desires to exercise the democratic rights which people all over the world cherish: namely, the right to free choice, to self-determination, to association, and the right to associate freely. Invariably also, the emergence of political parties was linked to elections through which the core values of democracy were affirmed. That is, the struggle for the franchise was linked closely to the struggle fo political and civil rights – of freedom and self-determination.

Manual for Good Governance and Development at Local Level

For District Assembly Members

The "Manual for Good Governance and Development at Local Level", represents a framework for promoting civic education initiated by the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province Pastoral Conference (TEPPCON) of the Catholic Church in Northern Ghana. It is the fruit of the joint efforts of TEPPCON and its partners, namely, the Muenster Diocese, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) and Akademie Klausenhof, all of Germany. The book is called a Manual, because it is meant to be used for the training of district, municipal and metropolitan assembly men and women so that they could effectively discharge their responsibilities as the elected civil representatives of the people at the local level. The firm conviction of the authors of the Manual is that, "assembly members are key actors in the decentralization process, (and) if they do not play their roles properly, the factual devolution of power from the centre to the periphery, to the local level, will never take place."

Die Außenpolitik Liberias seit der Unabhängigkeit

Aspekte ihrer Bestimmungsgründe

“Liberia has never had the advantages of colonialism”. Diese Aussage wird William V. S. Tubman, Präsident Liberias von 1944-71, zugeschrieben. Dennoch: 1847 aus der Kolonie Liberia hervorgegangen, ist der Staat Liberia ein politisches Gebilde, dessen innere Strukturen sich von denen anderer nachkolonialer Staaten nicht grundsätzlich unterscheiden. Von der Gründung der Kolonie Liberia durch die American Colonisation Society (ACS) im Jahre 1822 bis zum Jahre 1980 wurde das Land politisch von der Minderheit der so genannten Ameriko-Liberianer dominiert. In ihr Herrschaftssystem wurden die traditionellen Autoritäten des Hinterlandes und ihre Bevölkerung erst im 20. Jahrhundert nach und nach lose integriert: 1904 Zuerkennung der formellen Staatsbürgerschaft, und erst unter Präsident Tubmann 1946 Gewährung des Wahlrechts, wobei ihre parlamentarische Vertretung ab 1951 auf einem ethnisch begründeten Verfahren beruhte. Das politische System war von Anbeginn und ist bis heute sehr eng an das amerikanische Vorbild, eine präsidiale Republik, angelehnt: Bikamerale gesetzgebende Versammlung bestehend aus Repräsentantenhaus und Senat, mit starkem Präsident, der Staatsoberhaupt, Regierungschef und Oberbefehlshaber der Streitkräfte in Personalunion ist. Die Oberschicht der Ameriko-Liberianer regierte das Land mit Hilfe der True Liberian Party (TLP) (1847-1870, 1872-1878) und der True Whig Party (TWP) (1879-1980) bis ins 20. Jahrhundert. Trotz eines nach außen hin Zweiparteiensystems war Liberia de facto ein Einparteiensystem, da beide Parteien, TLP und TWP, von ein und derselben Elite besetzt wurden. Das Funktionieren des amerikanischen Regierungssystems im Sinne von Check and Balance erfordert aber mindestens zwei in Konkurrenz stehende politische Parteien.Liberia, dessen Name symbolisch für das „Land der Freien“ steht, war unter diesem Gesichtspunkt von Anfang an ein Paradoxon, wie es nicht besser durch das folgende Zitat auf den Punkt gebracht werden kann: „The Americo-Liberians established a nation that in many ways mirrored the one they had left. (…) But they also replicated a social structure in which local Africans could not acquire full social, civic or political participation – similar to the oppressive anti-African American rules that prompted many to leave the U.S. to begin with.“

Speech of the German Ambassador on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Arbitration and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in Ghana

Workshop Report