Reflections on By-Elections in the Fourth Republic of Ghana

Abstract

Besides their obvious function of filling vacancies in the legislature, by-elections have several other potential functions in a political system - ranging from new political recruitment, through boosting party popularity, to conducting dry-runs for future elections. After a brief theoretical analysis of by-elections, this paper examines the dynamics, intricacies, and impacts of by-elections in Ghana since its return to constitutional rule in 1993 vis-à-vis the constitutional provisions and concludes by drawing out the major emerging issues with a discussion of the raging debate on the relevance of by-elections in the current constitutional dispensation