Chances of an independent candidate winning
the Presidential election in December this year
Elections are essential component of a well-structured
democratic state as they create a pool of individuals who steer the political
administration of the state.
They are a key approach used to select parliamentarians and presidents,
enabling them to legitimately wield political power in fostering the
development of a state.
Since the adoption of democratic system of governance in
1992, Ghana has relied on elections in legitimizing heads of state.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana permits citizens to contest
elections either as candidates of a political party or as independent
candidates.
Over the years, Ghana has witnessed numerous independent
candidates contesting both parliamentary and presidential elections.
However, while some have been successful in securing
parliamentary seats for their respective constituencies, independent candidates
have struggled to win presidential elections.
It is noteworthy that since 1992, no independent presidential
candidate has ever secured 1% of the total votes in a general election under
Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
In both the 1992 and 1996 general elections, the first and
second to be held under the Fourth Republic respectively, no independent
candidate contested in the race to the presidency.
However, in the 2000 general election, Ghana saw two notable
individuals who broke away from their respective parties – Charles Wereko
Brobbey (formerly of the New Patriotic Party, NPP) and Goosie Tandoh (formerly
of the National Democratic Congress, NDC) — to run as independent presidential
candidates.
At the end of the Polls, Goosie Tandoh had 78,629 (1.10%) and
Charles Wereko Brobbey had 22,629 (0.30).
In the 2004 general election, there was no independent
candidate who showed up to contest the presidential election, but during the
2008 election, Joseph Osei Yeboah (JOY) contested as an independent
candidate.
He had 19,179 (0.22%) of the total votes cast. The rejected
ballot was 205,438 representing (2.37%) of the total votes count.
In the 2012 general election, Joseph Osei Yeboah (JOY) again
contested as an independent candidate. He won 15,156 votes representing (0.14%)
of the total votes count while the rejected ballot was 167,349 (1.54%).
Joseph Osei Yeboah (JOY) in the 2016 presidential election
had 15,889 representing (0.15%) of the total votes count.
The rejected ballot was 167,349 (1.54%) which was higher than
what the independent candidate gained in the polls.
In the 2020 presidential election, Alfred Kwame Asiedu Walker
contested as an independent candidate, winning 9,704 votes (0.74%) of the total
votes count.
The above statistics indicate that independent candidates'
chances of winning presidential elections under the fourth republic of Ghana
are very slim. If there would be any chances at all, it would not be an
absolute victory but a record high percentage since 1992.