Abstract:
This study examined the three levels of electoral governance and the extent to which they have
contributed to the elections that Ghana‟s Electoral Commission has managed under the Fourth
Republic. The practical initiatives undertaken by the Electoral Commission in the area of rule
making, rule application and rule adjudication in managing elections in Ghana, were the central
issues that the study addressed. The study argued that the constitutional leverage granted to the
EC to make instruments to regulate the Ghanaian electoral processes has contributed
significantly to the improvements in Ghana‟s electoral governance. The innovations or reforms
introduced by the EC which have contributed enormously in the subsequent elections that were
conducted after the 1992 elections were made possible due to the potency of regulations enacted
by the EC under the Constitutional Instruments.
Nonetheless, the study posits that the Electoral Commission is still faced with a number of
challenges such as untimely releases of funds to enable it undertake its election activities
timeously. Other challenges include, „electoral demons‟ notably, electoral fraud, violence,
bloated register, and intimidation of election officials and voters at polling stations which
continue to dent the Ghanaian elections. It argued that the most viable option for Ghana to
consolidate its democracy require the citizens imbibing and adhering to the dictates of the EC‟s
regulations on electoral laws, and also the capacity of the security services to prosecute
criminality irrespective of the political coloration of the persons involved. This, the study noted
is the surest way of addressing the problem of „electoral demons‟, and non adherence to the
dictates of these rules and regulations risked undermining Ghana‟s democratic gains.
