The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and The Republic of Yemen Cosponsored by The United Nations Development Programme and The Government of Japan In Partnership with the Governments of: The Netherlands The United Kingdom The United States And the: Canadian International Development Agency Friedrich Ebert Stiftung International Labour Organization Irish Aid National Endowment for Democracy United States Agency for International Development Westminster Foundation for Democracy World Bank		Ghana Country Summary english - french - spanish In 1957, Ghana became the first West African country to gain independence under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.. In 1966, Nkrumah's one-party regime was overthrown in the first of what would become a tumultuous series of military coups and counter coups, with brief intervals of multiparty rule. In the late 1980s, faced with pressure by democratic elements within the country, the military government moved towards the restoration of constitutional government. In April 1992, the draft constitution formulated by a Consultative Assembly was approved in a national referendum, lifting the 11-year ban on political activity. Multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections followed at the end of 1992. Economic and Social Indicators Population: GNP: Per Capita GNP: Growth Rate: Illiteracy Rate: : Life Expectancy: 18 million $6.6 billion $370 0.5% 24%-males 47%-females 57-males 61-females The World Bank. World Development Report. Oxford Union Press,1999 The 1996 presidential and parliamentary elections marked the first time in the country's history that a transition from one civilian government to another was determined through the ballot process. The success of the elections was attributed in large measure to considerable electoral reforms instituted by the Ghanaian government following controversial 1992 elections. These reforms included a revamped voter registration process and a multiparty commission that resolved electoral disputes on a consensual basis in the pre-electoral period. Ghana was one of the first African countries to adopt a comprehensive reform program and the one that has sustained structural adjustment longest. Ghana achieved consistently high annual growth rates and maintains one of the more sound economies on the continent. The government instituted difficult reforms in the face of relatively well organized civil society organizations who were concerned with the immediate negative social affects of economic adjustment on the general population. Opposition parties are likely to make economic reform an issue in the upcoming 2000 presidential elections. [ Introduction ] [ Declaration ] [ Conference Transcripts ] [ Discussion Board ] [ Forum Home ] [ NDI Home ]