The major political parties in Ghana play a very crucial role in the socio-economic development of the country as well as in maintaining the bilateral relationship Ghana has with other international counterparts out there.
As the country moves forward in its democratic establishment, many other political parties spring up adding to the number of the already existing once after every four years period.
As much as we recognize all these parties in the multi-party state system, we will like to focus our attention in this article on expanding our knowledge of the major political parties and their founders only.
There are three major political parties in Ghana as of 2022. They include; the New Patriotic Party (NPP), National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
These parties are those that always pool the highest votes among the lot during elections hence selecting them as the major in the country and giving you more insights on who established them.
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Major political parties in Ghana
We have already seen the three major political parties in Ghana. Now let us take a closer look at some details as we educate ourselves:
1. National Democratic Congress
The NDC was formed on July 28, 1992, when there was a need for democratic rule in the country after several coups and political instability as a result of these coups.
NDC was founded by the late Jerry John Rawlings who in his wisdom adopted a constitution developed under his watch to transform the country from military rule to democratic rule.
Jerry John Rawlings was the Head of State of Ghana from 1981 to 1992 through military takeovers and the President of Ghana from 1993 to 2001 through a democratic election. Find more here.
2. New Patriotic Party
Since 1992 when Jerry John Rawling introduced democracy, the NPP was one of the two political parties that came up in the same year and contested the first-ever elections in Ghana.
The New Patriotic Party is a liberal-conservative political party. It has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghanaian politics, with its leading rival being the center-left National Democratic Congress.
According to history, the NPP was founded and officially announced to Ghanaians on July 28, 1992, just like its rival, the NDC. I guess this is why they are dominant in the democratic political history of the country. The founder of the party is however never mentioned in the country. You can read more here.
3. Convention People’s Party
The third major political party widely recognized in Ghana is the CPP which has been in existence even before the NPP and the NDC were built.
The Convention People’s Party is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention.
According to history, the founders of the party include; Kwame Nkrumah, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah all of the blessed memory. There’s more here.
Summary of Political Parties in Ghana
The political parties in Ghana are backed by law. However, among the lot, there are three parties that receive the highest votes during national elections. They are;
- National Democratic Congress (NDC)
- New Patriotic Party (NPP)
- Convention People’s Party (CPP)