Despite Gains, Ghana Must Remain Vigilant on Democracy

Despite Gains, Ghana Must Remain Vigilant on Democracy

Ghanaian President John Atta Mills died Tuesday, three days after turning 68 years old and five-and-a-half months before the end of his first term in office.

In other African countries, the death of political leaders has often led to political crises, including coups, such as Togo in 2005 and Guinea in 2008. But in Ghana, which has long been held up as a model of democracy for Africa, the peaceful transfer of power following the death of the president has only improved its reputation.

“That John Dramani Mahama, Mills’ vice president, would be sworn in within hours of Mills’ death was almost an afterthought for Ghanaians,” said Rod Alence, a Ghana expert and associate professor of international relations at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Political leaders and the public have come to embrace the core values of constitutional democracy. This is an important asset as the country moves toward what could be a very closely contested presidential election at the end of the year.”

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review