The State of the Nation is an annual address to Parliament given by the President of the republic of Ghana covering economic, social, and financial state of the country according to Article 67 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana. [1] [2] [3]
The state of the nation address, also known as SONA, was first implemented under the administration of John Kufuor. Records show that in 18 years at the helm of Ghana, President Jerry John Rawlings did not deliver a State of the Nation address contrary to the provisions of the national constitution. Former president John Agyekum Kufuor, was the first president to deliver the state of the nation address in Ghana hence sticking rigidly to the letter of the constitution, which says the president should give a State of the Nation address at the beginning and close of every parliamentary session. Since then The state of the nation has been in existence. [4] [5] [6]
Politics of Ghana takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Ghana is both head of state and head of government, and of a two party system. The seat of government is at Golden Jubilee House. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and Parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a centre-right and liberal-conservative political party in Ghana. Since the democratisation of Ghana in 1992, it has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghanaian politics, with its leading rival being the centre-left National Democratic Congress (NDC). John Kufuor of the NPP was President of Ghana from 2001 to 2009. At the elections held on 7 December 2004, the party won 129 out of 230 seats. The NPP candidate was Kufuor, who was re-elected as president with 52.75% of the vote. The New Patriotic Party symbol is the African elephant and the New Patriotic Party colours are red, white, and blue.
John Dramani Mahama is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as president on 24 July 2012 following the death of his predecessor, John Evans Fiifi Attah Mills.
Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo was the Chief Justice of Ghana from 19 June 2017 until 20 December 2019. She had been a Judge in the Supreme Court of Ghana since 1995.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 2017. He previously served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the Kufuor-led administration.
The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana's 1992 constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive arms of government.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana(EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members, 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 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 from July 2018. On 5 December 2018, the Electoral commission chaired by Jean Adukwei Mensah reverted to the old logo showing Coat of arms of Ghana and a ballot box showing the hand casting its votes, after the controversy over the new logo.
The Council of State in Ghana is a small body of prominent citizens, analogous to the Council of Elders in the traditional political system, which advises the President on national issues.
Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu is a Ghanaian politician and lawyer who served as Attorney General and Minister for Justice in Ghana from 2011 to 2012 and then as the First Special Prosecutor of the country from 2018 until his resignation in 2020, citing political interference by the President, Nana Akufo-Addo. He is also known for introducing the word ‘gargantuan‘, into the body politics of Ghana, when he opened investigations in the Woyome scandal which was one of the highest profiled corruption cases at the time. On 11 January 2018, Martin A.B.K Amidu was named by the President of Ghana as the Special Prosecutor for the newly created Office of the Special Prosecutor. Nana Akufo-Addo touted his anti-corruption fights as Attorney General and a private citizen as reasons for choosing Mr. Amidu, his one-time political adversary.
Ghana gained independence from the British on 6 March 1957. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country became a republic on July 1, 1960.
Joe Ghartey is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and politician. He is a former Attorney-General of Ghana (2006–2009), Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament (2013–2017) and Railways and Development Minister (2017–2021). Joe Ghartey hails from Shama, in the Western Region of the Republic of Ghana.
General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2016 to elect a President and Members of Parliament. They had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2016, but the date was later rejected by Parliament. Former foreign minister Nana Akufo-Addo of the opposition New Patriotic Party was elected President on his third attempt, defeating incumbent President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took office as Ghana's president on 7 January 2017 after winning the December 2016 presidential elections. A number of controversies have arisen under his administration.
Kwasi Anin-Yeboah is a Ghanaian judge and the immediate past Chief Justice of Ghana. In December 2019, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated Justice Anin-Yeboah as the Chief Justice of Ghana.
General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2020. Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was re-elected in the first round after securing a majority of the votes. Former President John Dramani Mahama announced that he would contest the results. At the Supreme Court, a petition challenging the result was filed on 30 December, and unanimously dismissed on 4 March 2021 for lack of merit.
The presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo began on 7 January 2017. Following the 2016 Ghanaian general elections, Nana Akufo-Addo the flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party, succeeded John Mahama as the 12th President of Ghana after winning by a landslide. He won a second term on 9 December 2020 in a tightly contested race against National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate and former president, John Mahama.
The presidency of John Mahama began on 24 July 2012 and ended on 7 January 2017. John became the 11th President of Ghana after he succeeded John Atta Mills who died in office on 24 July 2012. Prior to that, he served as Vice-President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012.