Kwadwo Afari-Gyan | |
---|---|
Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana | |
In office 1993–2015 | |
Preceded by | Justice Josiah Ofori Boateng |
Succeeded by | Charlotte Ama Osei |
Personal details | |
Born | Anyimon,Ghana | 18 June 1945
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Ghana University of California,Santa Barbara |
Occupation | Academic,Political scientist |
Kwadwo Afari-Gyan CSG (born 18 June 1945) is a Ghanaian academic,political scientist and election administrator. He was Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana [1] from 1993 to 2015.
Afari-Gyan was born on 18 June 1945 at Anyimon in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. [2] He attended Achimota School and Adisadel College for his A Level and also graduated from the University of Ghana in 1967 with a BA degree in Philosophy. He attained a MA degree in African politics in 1969 from the same university. He also studied in the United States where he was awarded a Ph. D. in political science from the University of California,Santa Barbara in 1974. [1]
Afari-Gyan worked as a lecturer and a professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana. He has also lectured in the United States and Nigeria. He was a member of the Committee of Experts that drafted the Fourth Republican Constitution for Ghana. [3]
In 1992,he was appointed deputy chairman of the Interim National Electoral Commission by the Provisional National Defence Council,which was ruling as a military junta,with the hope of returning the country to civilian rule. His job was to ensure that the November 1992 presidential election and the December 1992 parliamentary elections were free and fair. Jerry John Rawlings,the chairman of the PNDC,who was also Head of State,stood and won the elections. [1]
With the coming into force of the Fourth Republican Constitution,a new Electoral Commission was set up and Afari-Gyan became its first substantive chairman. He has successfully supervised all the elections held under this constitution so far. He has successfully chaired the conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections in 1992,1996,2000,2004 and 2008. [4] In the last of these,unofficial institutions attempted to declare the results of these elections,with Afari-Gyan stating that these results could not be trusted. [5]
The 2004 general elections were disputed in court by the opposition National Democratic Congress. But the case was lost on technicalities. Again,the 2012 presidential election between President John Dramani Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo ended up in an 8-month election petition trial at the Supreme Court. The opposition leader lost the case in a 5:4 split decision,which held that the President was validly elected. But,the trial,which was live on television,exposed some fundamental weaknesses in Ghana's electoral process,triggering calls and moves towards comprehensive electoral reforms before the 2016 general elections. [6] The ruling has been heavily criticised by jurists. [7] [8]
This is what one of the Supreme Court Justices,Justice Jones Dotse,had to say about Dr Afari Gyan:"My observation is that,Dr. Afari Gyan appeared to have concentrated his oversight responsibility at the top notch of the election administration,thereby abdicating his supervisory role at the grassroots or bottom,where most of the activities critical to the conduct of elections are performed. In this instance,he even appeared not to be conversant with some of the basic procedural steps and rules that are performed by his so-called temporary staff. So far as I am concerned,Dr. Afari Gyan has cut a very poor figure of himself,and the much acclaimed competent election administrator both nationally and internationally has evaporated into thin air once his portfolio has come under the close scrutiny of the Courts." [9]
In 1998,he became the Executive Secretary of the Association of African Election Authorities. He was also a member of a committee of experts who advised Nigeria on elections. [10]
He retired as Chairman of the Electoral Commission in June 2015.
He was awarded the Order of the Star of Ghana,the highest national award by President John Mahama,on 1 July 2015. [11]
He has also worked in other African countries and has written several books. [1] He was the "star witness" for the Electoral Commission of Ghana in an electoral petition filed by the New Patriotic Party after the 2012 general election. [12]
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The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members and there are seven (7) functional departments at the Head Office. Each department is headed by a Director who is assisted by Unit Heads. The departments are:- Electoral services; Human Resource; Finance; Training; Administration; Research, Monitoring & Evaluation; Information Technology. its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 Ghana constitution. The current commission was established by the Electoral Commission Act (Act 451) of 1993. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan was the first substantive chairman of the commission in the Fourth Republic of Ghana, from 1993 to 2015. He was succeeded by Charlotte Osei as the first female chairman of the commission from 2015 to June 2018. Jean Adukwei Mensah succeeded Charlotte Osei in July 2018. On December 5, 2018, the Electoral commission chaired by Jean Adukwei Mensah reverted to the old logo showing the Coat of arms of Ghana and a ballot box showing the hand casting its votes, after the controversy over the new logo.
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General elections were held in Ghana on Friday 7 December 2012 to elect a president and members of Parliament in 275 electoral constituencies. Owing to the breakdown of some biometric verification machines, some voters could not vote, and voting was extended to Saturday 8 December 2012. A run-off was scheduled for 28 December 2012 if no presidential candidate received an absolute majority of 50% plus one vote. Competing for presidency were incumbent president John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), his main challenger Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and six other candidates.
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Josiah Ofori Boateng. is a Ghanaian judge who served on the Supreme Court of Ghana from 1999 to 2001. He previously served as Chairman of the Interim Electoral Commission of Ghana from 1989 to 1993, and in this role presided over the conduct of the first general elections under Ghana's Fourth Republic.
The Political history of Ghana recounts the history of varying political systems that existed in Ghana during pre-colonial times, the colonial era and after independence. Pre-colonial Ghana was made up of several states and ethnic groups whose political system was categorized by 3 main administrative models; Centralized, Non-centralized and Theocratic states. In the colonial era, the British Empire employed different forms of government among its four territorial possessions in the Gold Coast. Indirect rule was implemented in the late 19th century after its success in Northern Nigeria. From the 1940s, native Ghanaians yearned for more autonomy. This resulted in the several constitutional reforms as well as the creation of the office of the Prime Minister in 1952.
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