Ghana's political parties: how ethno/regional variations sustain the national two-party system

2006 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minion K. C. Morrison ◽  
Jae Woo Hong
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Organisation ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Complex Varieties ◽  
Election Results

This paper analyses Ghanaian electoral geography and its accompanying political party variations over the last decade. After re-democratisation in the early 1990s, the Fourth Republic of Ghana has successfully completed multiple elections and party alternation. Due to its single-member-district-plurality electoral system, the country has functioned virtually as a two-party system, privileging its two major parties – the NDC and the NPP. However, close examination of election results in the last parliamentary and presidential elections reveals that notwithstanding the two-party tendency, there is a dynamic and multilayered aspect of electoral participation in Ghanaian politics. Ethnic-based regional cleavages show much more complex varieties of electoral support for the two major parties, especially in light of fragmentation and concentration. Electoral support in the ten regions varies from strong one-party-like to almost three-party systems. Yet this lower, regional level tendency is not invariable. Regional party strengths have shifted from election to election, and it was just such shifts that made the party alternation possible in 2000. Employing traditional and newly designed indicators, this paper illustrates the patterns of electoral cleavage and regional party organisation, and how these ultimately sustain the party system at the national level in Ghana.

scholarly journals Comparison of agrarian political  parties in selected Central European states after 1989

2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 12) ◽  
pp. 544-553
Author(s):  
P. Blažek ◽  
M. Kubalek
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Agriculture Modernization ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
The City

This study deals with the founding and development of agrarian political parties and movements in selected postcommunist states (with the emphasis put on the Czech party system in the early 1990‘s). The topic is discussed from the point of view of classic political science theories, namely the historical conflict approach of Stein Rokkan and Seymour Martin Lipset, complemented with Derek Urwin’s theory regarding emergence of agrarian parties as a means of defense of country against urbanization. The results of research into the urban – rural cleavage and its influence on the genesis of agrarian political parties in selected post-communist countries after 1989 seem to support the above mentioned theories (even though those were originally formulated for a much earlier period when the Western party systems were first coming into existence. These can be applied also to the Czech environment, where several profession-based political parties were established in the early 1990’s, some of which were concerned with the defense of peasants’ and farmers’ interests. The attempts to create profession-based parties in the Czech political system were destined to fail for several reasons. The first was a striking ideological profiling of the bipolar party spectrum, causing general parties to pick up the themes and voters concerned with economic recession, and radicalization of electorate. The second reason lied in the diminishing numbers of potential voters, a result of agriculture modernization and general urbanization of society, which caused that the city-country conflict was reflected in the election results only marginally. The result was similar to other post-Soviet states, with a specific exception of Poland: agrarian parties and movements lost their former influence.

Continuity and Change in the 1993 Canadian General Election

1996 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikael Antony Swayze
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
General Election ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Regional Data ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Novel Approach

AbstractThis research note considers the complex relationship between the electoral and party systems in Canada from 1921 to 1993. By drawing on Douglas Rae's theoretical model, the note demonstrates that the electoral system exerts a powerful influence on the party system and makes the case that important regional information is often washed out in national-level results. Furthermore, a novel approach is taken to the measurement of regional data in a federal election—a comparison of the indices of fragmentation of the regions and the country provide an interesting explanation for some of the stunning changes in parliamentary representation in 1993. In interpreting the 1993 Canadian general election in this framework, the author argues that although the results in parliament seem to indicate momentous changes in Canadian politics, the voting patterns are, nonetheless, consistent with Canadian political history.

scholarly journals Using geoinformation tools for redistricting: Slovenian experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-156
Author(s):  
Boštjan Rogelj ◽  
Marko Krevs
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
District Magnitude ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Election Results ◽  
New System

Electoral districts are an important component of the electoral system, as they have a significant impact on election results. Due to the uneven spatial distribution of electoral support political parties receive, district magnitude and the geography of electoral districts can have a decisive influence on the electoral viability of individual parties and candidates. Districting and redistricting are not a simple bureaucratic process but a politically very sensitive process with outcomes that can have far-reaching political consequences. Geoinformation tools can have a very important role in electoral district planning. In this article we aim to present the key advantages and disadvantages of their use. The presented results are derived from practical experience gained over the course of developing a new system of electoral districts in Slovenia.

13. Party systems

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Caramani
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Competitive Interactions ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Multiparty Systems

This chapter examines how competition between political parties gives rise to different party systems. In liberal democracies, competition for power is based on popular votes. The shape and dynamics of party systems are determined by the electoral game, with parties as main actors. A party system is thus essentially the result of competitive interactions between parties. A party system has three main elements: which parties exist, how many parties exist and how big they are, and how parties behave. An obvious but important point is that party systems must be composed of more than one political party. The chapter begins with a discussion of the origins of party systems, followed by an analysis of the format of party systems, such as two-party systems and multiparty systems. It then considers the influence of the electoral system on party systems before concluding with an assessment of the dynamics of party systems.

Electoral Systems in Context

2017 ◽  
pp. 942-964
Author(s):  
Karen E. Ferree
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
National Level ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Institutional Expectations

South Africa’s post-apartheid election outcomes demonstrate how contextual factors interact with electoral rules to shape party systems. South Africa’s national electoral system represents one of the most permissive in the world, combining parliamentary rules with an extreme form of proportional representation. These rules were selected to encourage broad representation of parties in the National Assembly. However, South Africa’s party system consistently defies expectations, with a low effective number of seat-winning parties at the national level and dominance by a single party, the African National Congress (ANC). Provincial and municipal outcomes also confound simple institutional expectations. In addition to describing electoral rules and party systems at all three levels of South Africa’s political system, this chapter argues that contextual factors like the salience of racial divisions and the ability of the ruling party to shape institutions and resource flows critically interact with electoral institutions to shape party system outcomes.

From the ground up: The challenge of indigenous party consolidation in Latin America

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Rice
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Mixed Support ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Municipal Election ◽  
Base Of Support

To predict the electoral fate of the new cohort of indigenous-based political parties in Latin America, and the impacts on their respective party systems, we need to understand their prospects for consolidation. The central task of this article is to determine whether indigenous peoples’ parties are developing solid party roots in society or if they are merely benefiting from a protest vote against the system. The study of political party consolidation requires an examination of local level successes and failures. Based on a quantitative analysis of municipal election results in Ecuador (1996—2004) and Bolivia (1999—2004), the author finds mixed support for indigenous party consolidation. Clearly, the governing indigenous-based Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party in Bolivia has solidified its base of support. Ecuador’s indigenous-based Pachakutik (MUPP) party, however, has lost its support at the national level, though it continues to make impressive gains at the local level. As such, it represents a case of incomplete consolidation.

Social Diversity, Electoral Systems, and the Party System

2017 ◽  
pp. 134-158
Author(s):  
Robert G. Moser ◽  
Ethan Scheiner ◽  
Heather Stoll
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Census Data ◽  
National Level ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Key Aspects

Scholars commonly argue that in democratic societies, the size (or fragmentation) of party systems is a linear function of social heterogeneity, in interaction with political institutions such as the electoral system. This “interactive hypothesis” has generated a large body of research, mostly in support of its fundamental claims. Despite the prominence of this literature, there is also a growing body of research that casts doubt on the interactive hypothesis. Although societies exhibit a variety of different types of heterogeneity, from religious to socioeconomic diversity, which vary within countries by subnational region, political scientists typically characterize countries’ heterogeneity almost exclusively according to measures of national-level ethnic diversity. This chapter uses original census data to show just how misleading such a characterization can be. We conclude with the implications for theories that seek to relate heterogeneity to key aspects of democratic party systems.

scholarly journals Regional political parties in the context of the study of the process of nationalization (based on the results of the local elections in 2015)

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
M. M. Shelemba
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
Regional Parties ◽  
Ideological Parties ◽  
Russian Politics ◽  
High Level

The article is devoted to the study of the characteristics and typology of regional political parties in Ukraine, the assessment of the connection of the nationalization of the party system of Ukraine, the deviance (non-typology) of electoral behavior of the regions with the development of regional parties in the state by the results of local elections in 2015.In the course of the study, the main scientific approaches to the characterization and typology of regional parties in Ukraine were considered. It has been established that scholars identify the following categories of regional political parties, namely: ideological parties, political parties-projects of prominent personalities, ethnic parties, administrative parties (pro-government political parties). It is proposed to expand existing typology by introducing such categories of regional parties as projects of local elites, regional parties oriented on pro-Russian politics in Ukraine, technical political parties, which are beginning active activities before the elections, helping to ensure passing to local bodies of self-government to certain persons. It was found that regional political parties, based on the results of the local elections in Ukraine in 2015, were two pro-Russian political forces, four parties that focused on supporting the interests of local elites and one ethnic party. It is noted that the support of regional political parties is low. This is confirmed by the results of the electoral vote at the national level. It was noted that against the backdrop of a high level of nationalization of the party system for the period of 2014–2015, calculated on three approaches (the nationalization index was calculated according to the approach of M. Johns and S. Meinwering, G. Holosov and author’s modified approach), these parties did not have significant influence on the electoral picture of the country. It is also determined that since the third author’s modified approach allows to take into account the results of elections to local self-government bodies, it is relevant for the study of regional parties. Therefore, its use is most optimal for similar analytical purposes.Among the factors that had the greatest influence on party nationalization over the period of 2014–2015 were the electoral system, the transformational factors in the socio-political space, the change in the form of government, decentralization (de-volition) associated with the reform of local self-government and the territorial organization of power in Ukraine Accordingly, it has been proved that the latter of these factors has become an important prerequisite for the emergence of new regional political parties at the local elections of 2015.

13. Party Systems

2020 ◽  
pp. 231-251
Author(s):  
Daniele Caramani
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Competitive Interactions ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Multiparty Systems

This chapter examines how competition between political parties gives rise to different party systems. In liberal democracies, competition for power is based on popular votes. The shape and dynamics of party systems are determined by the electoral game, with parties as main actors. A party system is thus essentially the result of competitive interactions between parties. A party system has three main elements: which parties exist, how many parties exist and how big they are, and how parties behave. An obvious but important point is that party systems must be composed of more than one political party. The chapter begins with a discussion of the origins of party systems, followed by an analysis of the format of party systems, such as two-party systems and multiparty systems. It then considers the influence of the electoral system on party systems, before concluding with an assessment of the dynamics of party systems.

2018 Fiji Election Results: Patterns of Voting by Provinces, Rural-Urban Localities, and by Candidates

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruo Nakagawa
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
The Political ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Election Results

Akin to the previous, 2014 event, with no data on voter ethnicity, no exit polls, and few post-election analyses, the 2018 Fiji election results remain something of a mystery despite the fact that there had been a significant swing in voting in favour of Opposition political parties. There have been several studies about the election results, but most of them have been done without much quantitative analyses. This study examines voting patterns of Fiji’s 2018 election by provinces, and rural-urban localities, as well as by candidates, and also compares the 2018 and 2014 elections by spending a substantial time classifying officially released data by polling stations and individual candidates. Some of the data are then further aggregated according to the political parties to which those candidates belonged. The current electoral system in Fiji is a version of a proportional system, but its use is rare and this study will provide an interesting case study of the Open List Proportional System. At the end of the analyses, this study considers possible reasons for the swing in favour of the Opposition.

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