1 UNIVERSITY OF GHANA PARTY FRAGMENTATION IN GHANA’S FOURTH REPUBLIC: A CASE STUDY OF THE NKRUMAHIST PARTIES BY BAFFOUR AGYEMAN PREMPEH BOAKYE (10469931) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MPHIL IN POLITICAL SCIENCE DEGREE OCTOBER, 2020 10020356 i DECLARATION I hereby declare that this work was carried out independently by me under the supervision of Professor J.R.A. Ayee and Dr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah and has not been submitted by anyone in this institution or elsewhere for any academic award. All references have been duly acknowledged. BAFFOUR AGYEMAN PREMPEH BOAKYE (10469931) Date: 20/04/2021 PROFESSOR J.R.A. AYEE DR. ISAAC OWUSU-MENSAH (Principal Supervisor) (Co-Supervisor) Date: 20/04/2021 Date: 20/04/2021 ii ABSTRACT Intra-party conflicts and party fragmentation is not a new phenomenon to Ghanaian politics. It traces its historical antecedents to when Kwame Nkrumah led a section of the UGCC to breakaway to form the CPP in 1949. Subsequent ones occurred in the Third Republic of Ghana when the Danquah-Busia tradition’s Progress Party was split into the PFP and UNC ahead of the 1979 elections. Ghana’s Fourth Republic cannot entirely be left out of the picture because it has also had its share of intra-party conflicts and fragmentations. Despite its resurgence, some political parties in Ghana like the NPP and NDC have perfected the art of managing the situation as and when it erupts. However, the Nkrumahist parties have failed to recover from their recurrent fragmentation. Against this backdrop, the study examined the dynamics of the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties and its impact on them. The study adopted the qualitative research approach to obtain its primary data as well as relied on some existing secondary sources from books, articles, etc. The study found that leadership crises, exploitation of warring factions by major political parties and the effects of Ghana’s political system have over the years contributed to the inability of Nkrumahist parties to recover from fragmentation like NDC and NPP. The dynamics to this the fragmentation include self-induced factors like excessive glorification of their founder and absence of effective party structures, selfishness and greed, political opportunism, party financing and Ideological rift. Additional factors like the deliberate extermination of the tradition through coups and the destabilization ploy by major parties were found to had also contributed to the Nkrumahists’ problem. The Nkrumahists fragmentation was found to have contributed to their abysmal electoral performance, affected their ability to advance alternative governance proposals, entrenched the ‘two-horse’ race between the NDC and NPP as well as attracted businessmen who only use the tradition as means of amassing wealth or launch their political career. The study recommends among others the need for iii Nkrumahists to build effective party structures, strengthen their conflict resolution mechanisms, and refrain from excessive greed and political patronage. iv DEDICATION To God, family, country and all Nkrumahists in Ghana. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I am grateful to God almighty for his grace and mercy for the past two years and making my dream of finishing an MPhil degree in Political Science a reality. Second, my profound gratitude goes to my supervisors, Prof. J.R.A. Ayee and Dr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah for their patience, insightful comments, and guidance. Second, I wish to express my appreciation to Prof. Kwame Boafo-Arthur, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare (Deputy Commissioner, Electoral Commission of Ghana), Dr. Hassan Wahab, Mr. Alexander Kaakyire Duku Frempong, Mr. Steven Ahiawordor, Dr. Llyod Amoah and Dr. Maame Gyekye-Jandoh (Head of Department) for their support and words of encouragement. Again, I owe a debt of gratitude to Madam Esther Amanquanor (Rtd.), Madam Mary Eslander Quaye, Madam Doreen Armah (Departmental Secretaries) and Mr. New-love Osei-Asante (Retired Departmental Librarian), and to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS)- Ghana for their support. Finally, special thanks to Prof. Kenneth Janda (Northwestern University, USA) and Dr. George M. Bob-Milliar (Director, Institute of African and Oriental Studies, KNUST) for the clarifications and impact of their works. My heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah (former Vice-Chancellor, UG), Prof. George P. Hagan (Former CPP flag bearer), Madam Samia Nkrumah (Former Chairperson of the CPP) and Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketsia (General secretary, NDC). To my friends; Mr. Emmanuel Siaw (University of London) and Ernest Akuamoah (Australian National University), Kenneth Felitse (University of Ghana), Samuel Amankwah Okoto (TUFS, Japan), all my MPhil colleagues especially Darko Prince Kwao Ansah, Rashida Jeduah and Nelson Quame, I am grateful for your unwavering support. God bless us all. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION....................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION......................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... v List of figures ............................................................................................................................ ix List of tables ............................................................................................................................... x List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................ 1 1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Research Objectives ......................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Location of the Study in Political Science ....................................................................... 6 1.5 Importance of the Study ................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Justification of the Study .................................................................................................. 7 1.7 Organization of the Study ................................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 10 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................ 10 2.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 10 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................ 10 2.1.1 General Studies on Political Parties......................................................................... 10 2.1.2 General Studies on Factionalism, Intra-party conflicts and Fragmentations ........... 13 2.1.3 Studies on Nkrumahism ........................................................................................... 19 2.1.4 Studies on Ghanaian politics ................................................................................... 23 2.1.5 Studies on the Nkrumahist Tradition and Ghana’s Fourth Republican Politics ...... 26 2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................. 31 2.2.1 Origin of the theory of party change ....................................................................... 31 2.2.2 Propositions of the theory of Party Change ............................................................. 31 2.2.3 Justification for the theory of party change ............................................................. 32 2.2.4 Strengths of the theory ............................................................................................. 34 2.2.5 Weaknesses of the theory ........................................................................................ 34 2.2.6 Deployment of the Theory ....................................................................................... 35 vii 2.2.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................... 37 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 37 3.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 37 3.1 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 37 3.1.1 Case Study approach ............................................................................................... 38 3.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 39 3.2.1 Primary and Secondary Data ................................................................................... 40 3.3 Population....................................................................................................................... 40 3.4 Sampling Technique and Sample Size ........................................................................... 41 3.4.1 Research Instrument ................................................................................................ 42 3.5 Framework for Data Analysis ........................................................................................ 43 3.6 Ethical Issues .................................................................................................................. 43 3.7 Limitations and Challenges of the Study ....................................................................... 44 3.8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................................. 45 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................................. 45 4.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 45 4.1. Antecedents to unity within the CPP (1949- early 1960s) ............................................ 46 4.2 Dynamics of fragmentation within the Nkrumahist parties ........................................... 47 4.2.1 Personality cult and absence of effective party structures ....................................... 48 4.2.2 Deliberate annihilation of the tradition .................................................................... 52 4.2.3 Selfishness, hypocrisy, and greed ............................................................................ 54 4.2.4 Destabilization strategies by other political traditions ............................................ 56 4.2.5 Political Opportunism .............................................................................................. 60 4.2.6 Issues with party financing ...................................................................................... 63 4.2.7 Ideological rift ......................................................................................................... 64 4.3 The Impacts of the fragmentation on Nkrumahist parties .............................................. 66 4.3.1 Poor electoral performance ...................................................................................... 66 4.3.2 Entrenched political duopoly by major parties ........................................................ 68 4.3.3 Inability to advance alternative governance proposals ............................................ 69 4.3.4 Conduit to amass wealth .......................................................................................... 71 4.4 Dynamics to the inability of Nkrumahist parties to recover from fragmentation .......... 72 4.4.1 Absence of committed leadership ............................................................................ 72 4.4.2 Continued exploitation of existing factions ............................................................. 73 viii 4.4.3 Effects of the party system on minor parties ........................................................... 74 4.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................... 78 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........... 78 5.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 78 5.1 Summary of findings ...................................................................................................... 78 5.1.1 Research Question 1 ................................................................................................ 79 5.1.2 Research Question 2 ................................................................................................ 80 5.1.3 Research Question 3 ................................................................................................ 82 5.2 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 84 5.3 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 85 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 88 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... 100 APPENDIX A: Interview Guide For Past and Current National Executives Of The Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Peoples National Convention (PNC) .............. 100 APPENDIX B: Interview Guide For Former Flagbearers of the CPP/PNC ...................... 101 Appendix C: Interview Guide For Academics and Journalists .......................................... 102 APPENDIX D: Interview Guide For National Executives of National Democratic Congress (NDC) ................................................................................................................................. 103 ix List of figures Figure 4.1 Hierarchical Structure of the CPP from 1962-1966…………………………. 51 x List of tables Table 1.1: Percentage Vote (Presidential Elections) of the Nkrumahist Parties:1992-2016.... 8 Table 1.2: Number of Parliamentary seats won by the Nkrumahist Parties: 1992 -2016……. 8 Table 2.1: Percentage Vote (Presidential Elections) of the Nkrumahist Parties:1992-2016... 30 Table 2.2: Number of Parliamentary seats won by the Nkrumahist Parties: 1992 -2016….....30 Table 4.1: Military overthrows of legitimate governments in Ghana (1966-1981) ……….. 52 Table 4.2. List of Nkrumahists who benefited from the NDC and NPP Administrations (1993- 2020) ……………………………………………………………………………………. 61-62 Table 4.3. Percentage Vote (Presidential Elections) for Nkrumahist Parties:1960- 2016…………………………………………………………………………………………. 66 Table 4.4: Number of Parliamentary seats won by Nkrumahist Parties: 1951 -2016............ 67 xi List of abbreviations AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council ANC African National Congress APC All People’s Congress BDP Botswana Democratic Party CPP Convention People’s Party DFP Democratic Freedom Party EFL Economic Fighters League FONKAR Friends of Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings GAME Get Atta Mills Elected GCPP Great Consolidated Popular Party GUM Ghana United Movement KEEA Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem MPLA People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola MPP Melanesian Progressive Party NADECO National Development Company NAL National Alliance of Liberals NCP National Convention Party NDC National Democratic Congress NIM National Interest Movement xii NIP National Independence Party NLC National Liberation Council NLCD National Liberation Council Decree NPP New Patriotic Party NRC National Redemption Council NRP National Reform Party NUP National United Party PDA Preventive Detention Act PDP People’s Democratic Party PFP Popular Front Party PG Parliament of Ghana PHP People’s Heritage Party PNC People’s National Convention PNDC Provisional National Defense Council PNP People’s National Party PP Progress Party PPP Progressive People’s Party QCA Qualitative Content Analysis SMC Supreme Military Council SWAPO South West African People’s Organization xiii TANU Tanganyika African National Union UGCC United Gold Coast Convention UNC United National Convention VP Vanua’aku Pati ZANU-PF Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front 1 CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.0 Introduction Politics in colonial Africa started with the evolution of indigenous political groupings. These groupings, according to Agomor (2019: 60), “began as nationalist movements whose goal was to restore the sovereignty of the indigenous people”. Indeed, most of these political groups succeeded in liberating their people from the shackles of colonialism. Reference can be made to the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in Ghana, the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in Botswana, Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) in Tanzania and South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) in Namibia. Sadly, some of these political parties are defunct, or near extinction. A typical example is Julius Nyerere’s TANU in Tanzania. Nevertheless, some still remain politically relevant in their respective countries. For instance, the ANC, BDP, SWAPO, among others, have proven to be robust and dominant in their respective political systems after years of independence, despite the proliferation of other political parties (Akuamoah, 2017; Makgala & Mac Giollabhuí, 2014; Friedman, 2014; Melber, 2014). The ANC, which led the independence struggles and the revolt against apartheid in South Africa in 1994 has dominated their electoral politics and has created an exemplar one-party rule even though other parties exist (Friedman, 2014). This holds true for the BDP in Botswana which as of 2014, had won all ten parliamentary elections since 1966 (Makgala & Mac Giollabhuí, 2014). In the same vein, the SWAPO which served as the anti-colonial agent in 1960, still remains politically relevant to the politics of Namibia and has acquired a hegemonic status (Melber, 2014). In line with this observation, Melber (2014: 90) averred that ‘Loyalty to Namibia is equated with loyalty to SWAPO’. 2 However, the narrative is different from the Nkrumahist tradition in Ghana. Notably, the CPP, which mobilized Ghanaians against colonialism, is believed to have lost its relevance in Ghana’s political sphere. Just like any political entity, the Nkrumahists problem can be attributed to the dearth of party unity that began at the inception of the Fourth Republic. The CPP, being the oldest Nkrumahist-inspired party, has over the years seen the proliferation of splinter parties from their folds that profess the same tradition. In line with this, some scholars have attributed the gradual extinction of the Nkrumahist tradition to several undercurrents with the main being the proscription of the CPP after the February 1966 coup (Rathbone, 2000; Agomor, 2019; Frempong, 2017). More specifically, Agomor (2019) attributed the Nkrumahist problem to the National Liberation Council (NLC)’s overthrow of Nkrumah and the annihilation of the CPP and its traditions in 1966. As succinctly recounted by Frempong (2017), the NLC, after the 1966 coup d’état, overturned the CPP’s dejure one- party state declaration and banned the establishment of new political parties with Nkrumahist principles. Again, the NLC decree that proscribed the CPP also prevented the use of symbols, names or any colours in connection to the CPP (Frempong, 2015). Officials who were associated with the CPP in one way or the other were prevented from contesting future elections and, more specifically, the 1969 parliamentary elections (Ibid). The 1979 constitution, however, brought some respite to the Nkrumahist tradition when multi- party democracy was restored after a series of coups by the National Redemption Council (NRC) in 1972, Supreme Military Council (SMC) in 1975, SMC 2 in 1978 and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in 1979 (Jeffries, 1980). The scattered Nkrumahists, who had been denied active political participation for nearly thirteen (13) years from 1966- 1978 regrouped to form the People’s National Party (PNP) ahead of the 1979 general elections and won under the leadership of Dr. Hilla Limann. Sadly, the reign of the PNP and the 1979 3 Republican constitution was short-lived, because the regime was overthrown by Chairman Rawlings’ Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) (Ibid). The Fourth Republic of Ghana has experienced seven (7) successive elections: 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 since its inauguration in 1993 (Frempong, 2017). These elections have largely been judged as successful and devoid of any serious post-electoral violence. However, these elections have widely been won alternatingly by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), even though other parties exist (Gyampo & Yobo, 2015). Sadly, the Nkrumahist front within Ghana’s Fourth Republican trajectory has largely remained divided due to the proliferation of splinter parties. The notable ones ahead of the 1992 elections included the People’s National Convention (PNC), National Independence Party (NIP), National Convention Party (NCP) and the People’s Heritage Party (PHP) (Ninsin, 2006). This phenomenon persisted ahead of successive elections in 2000, 2012 and 2016, with more parties splintering from the CPP tradition. For instance, the Dan Lartey- led Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Dr. Kwesi Nduom-led Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and Hassan Ayariga’s All People’s Convention (APC) splintered from the Nkrumahist inspired CPP and PNC (Agomor, 2019; Broadway, 2019; Frempong, 2017). Some scholars attributed the Nkrumahists problem to unhealthy competition for leadership, personality deification, selfish political ambition, and a dearth of consensus (Addae-Mensah, 2016; Agomor, 2019). Externally, the evolution of the NDC and NPP in 1992 equally contributed to the problem (Agomor, 2019; Frempong, 2017; Oquaye, 1993; Fordwor, 2010). Unlike the Third Republic, where all Nkrumahists managed to forge a united front under the PNP, the Fourth Republican trajectory has been disastrous for the Nkrumahists largely because of their endless squabbles. The dearth of unity within the Nkrumahist tradition has affected them negatively in several ways and ought to be given the needed attention. 4 1.1 Statement of the Problem The rationale for the formation of most political parties in contemporary times is to win elections or possibly secure some parliamentary seats. As concisely argued by Schattschneider (1942), political parties are defined in terms of their ability to win political power in any given election. Unlike the ANC, SWAPO, INC, BDP that led independence struggles, but continue to remain relevant in their respective countries, the Nkrumahist tradition, notably, the CPP, to some extent, can be likened to the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) that became virtually irrelevant to the politics of Tanzania after independence. It has been argued that the CPP’s problem to some extent can be attributed to the divisive nature of party leaders and members, personality egos and a dearth of consensus (Addae-Mensah, 2016; Agomor, 2019). Some scholars have also attributed the possible cause of party fragmentation to party financing (Ayee, et.al, 2007). Indisputably, the post-1992 politics in Ghana has been catastrophic for the Nkrumahist political parties. The CPP, in particular, has over the years been bedeviled with similar internal squabbles that characterized the Danquah-Busia tradition ahead of the 1979 elections (Debrah, 2004). Party unity remains paramount for the survival of every political entity largely because only a united front can appeal to the electorate for votes. Intra-party conflicts are inevitable in any political entity across the globe, with Ghana being no exception. Major parties like the NPP and NDC in Ghana’s Fourth Republic are always plagued with intermittent intra-party conflicts, but have over the years, managed the situation to reduce divisions and unwarranted factions. However, what accounts for the unending deep-seated fragmentation of the Nkrumahist front in Ghana’s Fourth Republic remains worrying and debatable which therefore merits investigation. Accordingly, this thesis sets out to investigate and explain why the Nkrumahist political parties have been fragmented since the advent of the Fourth Republic. The two central questions to be addressed are: (i) what are the key factors which have contributed to the endless 5 fragmentation of the Nkrumahist political parties? (ii) Could these factors be self-imposed or are they ideological? Even though a plethora of literature on the politics of Ghana’s Fourth Republic (Agomor, 2019; Frempong, 2017; Frempong, 2015; Ayee, 2017; Ayee, 2011; Ayee, 1998; Gyampo, Graham & Yobo, 2017; Yobo & Gyampo, 2015; Akuamoah, 2017; Addae-Mensah, 2016; Kelly & Bening, 2013; Morrison, 2004, Oquaye, 1995; Oquaye, 2004, etc.) exists, the dynamics of fragmentations within the CPP and PNC, and their effects on them have not clearly been articulated. Nonetheless, a chunk of the literature on the politics of Ghana’s Fourth Republic has been devoted either to the dominance or the institution of a two-party system by the NPP and the NDC, voting behaviour, democratic consolidation and intra-party conflicts in either the NPP or NDC. Admittedly, Yobo & Gyampo (2015) in their article on, “Third Parties and Electoral Politics in Ghana’s Fourth Republic” highlighted some of the key challenges that confront third parties and their inability to form a viable third force but failed to address some key factors that have accounted for the divisions and factionalism within the CPP and PNC. Similarly, Addae- Mensah (2016) in his book, Hilla Limann: scholar-diplomat-statesman-president of the republic of Ghana 24th September 1979 to 31st of December 1981: a biography, to some extent, outlined some of the causes of fragmentation and failed unity attempts within the CPP. However, new developments that has deepened the pre-existing divisions within the Nkrumahist parties were not covered. Furthermore, Bob-Milliar’s (2019) work showed the nexus between political patronage and the schisms within the Nkrumahist parties. He maintained that some Nkrumahists often resort to patronage of the major parties for their survival. My study will extend Bob-Milliar’s work by fleshing out some of the issues raised, including patronage, scheming, personality egos and funding. 6 Against these backdrops, this study seeks to examine the factors behind the endless squabbles and fragmentations of the Nkrumahist political parties in Ghana’s Fourth Republic and its effects on their electoral performance. 1.2 Research Objectives The overarching objective of the study is to examine the factors that have contributed to the failure of Nkrumahist parties to recover from fragmentation. The specific objectives are as follows: • Examine the dynamics of fragmentation within the Nkrumahist parties. • Discuss the impacts of these fragmentations on the performance of the CPP, PNC, and its splinter parties. • Proffer some recommendations to deal with the recurring fragmentation as well as increase the prospects of Nkrumahist political parties in future elections. 1.3 Research Questions The overarching research question: Why have the Nkrumahist parties failed to recover from fragmentation? The secondary questions are as follows: • What are the dynamics of the fragmentation? • How has the fragmentation affected their performance? 1.4 Location of the Study in Political Science This study falls under Electoral Politics, a sub-field of Political Science. The study sets out to examine the recurrent fragmentation of the Nkrumahist political parties and its effects on their electoral performance. The research sought to complement the existing literature on the electoral politics of Ghana. 7 1.5 Importance of the Study This study is important because it contributes to scholarship on political parties through an examination of the factors that have contributed to the divisions within the CPP. The effect of the fragmentation on the parties was also discussed which led the study to make some recommendations that would address the causes of the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties. In a nutshell, therefore, the study contributes to the literature in discussing the factors that promote or undermine the unity and stability of political parties and how political parties can be strengthened or rebuilt to become more viable in winning elections. 1.6 Justification of the Study The performance of every political party is relevant in democracies. The success of a political party is measured mostly by indicators such as internal party democracy, political dominance, elections won, representation in parliament and performance in government. However, most political parties are inherently plagued with intra-party conflicts, fragmentations, and deep- seated factionalism which is mostly underpinned by internal party democracy, party financing, personality egos, among others. These challenges have characterized almost every political tradition in Ghana. Interestingly, the NPP and NDC as noted earlier, have contained the situation to increase their electoral fortunes since 1992. However, the endless fragmentations that characterized the Nkrumahist tradition at the inception of the Fourth Republic continue to impinge on their relevance to the politics of Ghana. A cursory analysis of electoral results in Ghana from 1992-2016 (Tables 1.1 and 1.2), gives vivid evidence of the abysmal performance of the Nkrumahist parties, notably, the CPP, PNC, PPP, and GCPP. In short, this study was motivated by the need to examine the dynamics of fragmentation in the Nkrumahist tradition and how this problem continually impinges on their performance under Ghana’s Fourth Republic vis-a-vis their prominence in the First and Third Republics. 8 Table 1.1: Percentage Vote (Presidential Elections) of the Nkrumahist Parties: 1992-2016 PARTY/ YEAR 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 CPP - - 1.8% 1% 1.3% 0.18% 0.24% PNC 6.7% 3% 2.9% 1.92% 0.9% 0.22% 0.21% GCPP - - 1% - - 0.35% - PPP - - - - - 0.59% 1% Source: Author’s Compilation from Electoral Commission of Ghana, 2019. Table 1.2: Number of Parliamentary seats won by the Nkrumahist Parties: 1992 -2016 PARTY/YEAR 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 CPP - - 1 3 1 - - PNC - 1 3 4 2 1 - GCPP - - - - - - - PPP - - - - - - - Source: Author’s Compilation from Electoral Commission of Ghana, 2019. 1.7 Organization of the Study This study consists of five (5) Chapters. Chapter one (1) deals with the introduction to the study, statement of the problem, research objectives, research questions, relevance of the study, the location of the study in political science and the organization of the chapters. Chapter two (2) is devoted to the literature review and theoretical framework. The literature review section of the chapter uses relevant journals, articles, books, conference papers, party manifestoes, and reports. The theoretical framework section outlines the theoretical underpinnings of the phenomenon based on the preliminary appraisal of the literature. Chapter three (3) outlines the methodology and research instrument used. The chapter begins with an introduction to various research sampling techniques and strategies. Thereafter there is 9 a discussion of the data collection techniques, data sources, the data analysis framework, ethical considerations, and limitations. Chapter four (4) is an analysis of data gathered and a discussion of the findings. Chapter five (5) summarizes the findings and makes key policy recommendations. 10 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.0 INTRODUCTION This chapter is divided into two sections: the literature review and theoretical framework of the study. The first section focuses on the review of relevant literature on the study. The last section focuses on the theory of party change, which forms the theoretical foundation of the study. 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW This section focuses on the review of the relevant literature, drawn from existing books, articles, journals, and unpublished works. The review covers the following broad themes: 1. General studies on political parties; 2. General studies on intra-party conflicts, fragmentations, and factionalism; 3. Studies on Nkrumahism; 4. Studies on Ghanaian politics; and 5. Studies on the Nkrumahist tradition and Ghana’s Fourth Republican politics. 2.1.1 General Studies on Political Parties Political parties are undeniably essential to the sustenance of democracy in any country. In view of this, it has been argued that modern-day democracy remains the creation of political parties (Stokes, 1999). The concept of a political party has extensively been defined by many political scientists (Schattschneider, 1942; Downs, 1957; Schumpeter, 1966; Aldrich, 1995; etc.). Classical writers like Burke defined a political party as “a body of men united, for promoting by their joint endeavors the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed” (cited in Bob-Milliar, 2012a:17). Schattschneider (1942:35) also conceptualized the term as “an organized attempt to get power”. It is worth noting that 11 Schumpeter’s (1966) definition resonated with Schattschneider’s when he defined the concept as “a group, whose members propose to act in concert in the competitive struggle for political power” (Schumpeter, 1966:283). The claims advanced by Schattschneider and Schumpeter, to a large extent, distinguish a political party from a pressure group because pressure groups, per their modus operandi, do not seek political power. Downs (1957) defined a political party as a group of individuals who aspire to control the governance apparatus through a competitive election. Similarly, Schlesinger (1991) reverberated Down's assertions when he defined the idea as an organized group that seeks to gain control of the government machinery by winning elections. Gunther & Diamond (2003), in contributing to the growing debate on political parties, expanded the arguments to cover the typologies of political parties based on a classification criterion. They argued that political parties can be elitist, mass-based, ethnic-based, electoral or simply a movement (Ibid). It is worth noting that the similarity that runs through these selected definitions is the fact that political parties are formed by a group of like-minded individuals who aspire to contest elections with the ultimate aim of winning to form a government. This, to a larger extent, helps to distinguish between a political party and pressure groups. However, some of these selected definitions can be critiqued to a certain degree. Firstly, Schattschneider’s conception of a political party can be flawed on grounds of generalizability because any “organized attempt to get power” as he puts it does not legitimize just any group as a political party. Schattschneider’s assertion if anything to go by captures military juntas as political parties because their actions equally culminate in an attempt for power. Secondly, Downs’ logic defeats the purpose of the concept in the sense that not all elections are competitive. Per Downs’ logic, any organized group that contests and win elections on a non- competitive basis does not qualify to be referred to as a political party. Downs’ logic is limited in scope because there are instances where elections are simply a one-party show even though 12 other parties exist, making it not competitive enough. Regardless of this setback, the literature review has placed this study in a proper scope buy detailing the ultimate aim and relevance of political parties. The relevance of political parties in contemporary democracy cannot be underestimated. The likes of Stokes (1999) argued that most opposition parties are in the business of forcing elected governments to be responsive to its citizens. Despite these strengths, Stokes further contended that some parties after their election, deviate from their core mandates, citing the overlapping generation model to explain divided positions within parties (Ibid). She emphasized that the: Overlapping generation models conceptualize political parties as composed of individuals who want to win office, but once in office desire to impose their own preferences, which are distinct from those of the median voter (Stokes, 1999: 253). In contemporary times, the relevance and prominence of political parties, to some extent, have been reduced to their viability to win elections and perform in government. In view of this, some political parties have either been branded as ‘major’ or ‘minor/fringe’. Major political parties, in essence, dominate the politics of their respective political systems. Most of these parties have succeeded in creating either ‘one-party’ or ‘two-party’ state exemplars. It is quite interesting to note that political parties that led the revolt against colonialism in most African countries have institutionalized their dominance to date (Doreenspleet & Nijzink, 2014). Doreenspleet & Nijzink (2014), in their edited book on Party Systems and Democracy in Africa, attempted to establish the impacts of party systems on democracy and the performance of political parties in Africa, citing classical examples from Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Benin, and Zambia. The book made solid cases for the continued dominance of some parties that led independence struggles on the African continent. Political parties like the ANC (South Africa), BDP (Botswana), SWAPO (Namibia), People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) (Angola), Frelimo (Mozambique) and Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) (Zimbabwe) have managed to hold on to political power for years 13 after successfully leading their respective countries to independence (Ibid). The book further indicated liberation dividends, weakness of the opposition parties and cohesion within these dominant parties as the reasons for the sustained dominance of these independence parties. It was argued further that though these parties faced intermittent intra-party squabbles, they managed to resolve the issue to reduce unwarranted fragmentations (Ibid). This work provides some foundation for the study. However, it can be critiqued on two main grounds. Firstly, the book overly gave accounts of the continued political dominance of some independence parties despite their intermitted squabbles, but failed to account for the loss of political dominance of other independence parties in Africa like the CPP in the Ghanaian case. Secondly, the book, though had a chapter on Ghana, overly accounted for the continued electoral dominance of the NPP and NDC without any focus on why an independence party like the CPP lost political power and failed to recover from fragmentation unlike other parties in Ghana. In view of this, my study sets out to contribute to the debate by focusing on the dynamics to the fragmentation and loss of political relevance of the CPP. 2.1.2 General Studies on Factionalism, Intra-party conflicts and Fragmentations Political parties are undeniably characterized by internal conflict, factionalism, and fragmentation which are largely due to the dissenting views of the individuals involved. Some scholars like Harmel et.al, (1995), Harmel and Janda (1994) and Harmel and Tan (2003) have pointed out the inevitability of factions within political entities. For instance, it has been observed that: Factionalism remains a fact of life within most political parties… it is not uncommon for rival factions to engage in struggles for control of their party's apparatus (Harmel et.al, 1995:7). 14 Boucek’s (2012) definition of factionalism somewhat confirmed the earlier claims by Harmel and his co-authors. He defined the concept as the segregation of a political party into sub- groups in pursuit of party dominance. However, Zariski’s assertions on factionalism which were given six decades ago provided more insights into the concept. He asserted that: We might define a faction as any intra-party combination, clique, or grouping whose members share a sense of common identity and common purpose and are organized to act collectively - as a distinct bloc within the party -to achieve their goals. These goals may include any, several, or all of the following: patronage (control of party and government office by members of the faction), the fulfilment of local, regional, or group interests, influence on party strategy, influence on party and governmental policy, and the promotion of a discrete set of values to which members of the faction subscribe (Zariski, 1960:33). The common denominator of these assertions is that factions are inevitable in any political entity and challenges the unitary actor assumptions of political parties. This is because there are mostly cabals of individuals who pursue dominance within any political entity in order to promote their own interests. Factionalism manifests in distinctive forms. Boucek (2009) argued that factionalism within political parties can be degenerative; mostly attributed to lack of conflict resolution machinery or excessive fragmentations, competitive; characterized by incongruities, and finally, cooperative; where existing conflict resolution mechanisms are employed. The outcome of factionalism, though could be cooperative, is mostly disastrous. In view of this, scholars like Köllner & Basedau (2005:13) argued that “factionalism can destabilize the party system and can lead to growing cynicism on the part of voters”. Factionalism within political parties is noted for its ability to trigger intra-party conflicts and fragmentations. What then are intra-party conflicts and party fragmentations? Awofeso et. al. (2017:100) defined intra-party conflict as “the usual natural conflict of human beings to struggle for that limited social value within the group in terms of prestige, wealth, positions and even recognitions”. These types of conflicts are mostly on egoistic grounds which are largely exacerbated by pure sabotage and high levels of sycophancy among individuals 15 within the same political entity (Ibid). Excessive factionalism and internal conflicts within political parties normally lead to the last concept, party fragmentation. Party fragmentation mostly occurs when the inherent dissatisfaction among individuals and a dearth of consensus within a party compel leaders to break away to form their own political parties (Morgan, 2008). From the foregoing, we can infer that the three concepts, factionalism, intra-party conflicts, and party fragmentation are interrelated because the causal factor remains the struggle for power and dominance within a social group. From all indications, fragmentation remains the last stage of the factionalism and intra-party conflict cycle because it mostly culminates into unwarranted defections and the emergence of splinter groups. These studies help to contextualize the scope of this study. Besides the explanations of the concepts, some studies have also contributed to the issue of intra-party conflicts, factionalism and fragmentations within some political parties across the world (Ceron, 2012; Aleyomi, 2013; Bob-Milliar, 2012b; Akuamoah, 2017; Okonkwo & Unaji, 2016; Morgan, 2008; etc.). From the European perspective, Ceron (2012) in her study gave some insights into intra-party politics and factional conflicts that characterize political parties, citing practical examples from the Italian political system. She raised relevant questions like why do parties break up? In an attempt to provide answers, Ceron theorized that intra-party rules, long-standing loyalty to party symbols and colours in event of party mergers can cause party fissures (Ibid). Morgan (2008) also pointed out how the politics of the Republic of Vanuatu became polarized as a result of the fragmentations and emergence of splinter parties from Vanuatu’s first political party, the Vanua’aku Pati (VP). The work cited growing bitterness among some members within the party as the possible cause of their fragmentation (Ibid). The author further revealed numerous splinter parties that emerged as a result of the expulsion of dissidents from the VP. 16 These parties included the National United Party (NUP), Melanesian Progressive Party (MPP), People’s Action Party (PAP) (Ibid). He emphasized that: Historically, the major precipitants of party fragmentation have been leadership challenges within the major parties, prompted by the highly personalized nature of Vanuatu politics, in which MPs vie for factional and, ultimately, party dominance as a matter of routine. The losers of such contests often form their own parties, attracting factional supporters to their new banners and temporarily reducing the influence of the original party (Morgan, 2008:135). It has been observed that “the politics of factions has been evident in African political life throughout the independence era” (Jackson & Rosberg, 2003:28). Scholars like Aleyomi (2013) and Okonkwo & Unaji (2016) contributed to the debate by drawing classical examples from the Nigerian political system. They outlined factors such as party financing, party executive arrogance and lack of internal party democracy as the causal factors for internal wrangling within political parties in Africa (Ibid). Furthermore, they cited practical evidence of how intra-party squabbles and factionalism within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led to unwarranted political defections and the inadvertent hijacking of the party by political financiers in Nigeria (Ibid). From the literature, intra-party conflicts, factionalism, and fragmentation are ubiquitous in the field of politics. It has provided some empirical foundations for this study. However, these studies can be critiqued on grounds of generalizability. In effect, claims made from the political systems of the Republic of Vanuatu, Italy, and Nigeria may not necessarily apply to the party systems of Ghana. In line with this, my study complements these growing debates by exploring the issue of party fragmentation in Ghana, using the Nkrumahist tradition as a case study. Interestingly, some studies on Ghana have given evidence of intra-party conflicts, factionalism and party fragmentation (Chazan, 1983; Fordwor, 2010; Bob-Milliar, 2012b; Akuamoah, 2017). Chazan (1983) in her book Anatomy of Ghanaian Politics made some stunning revelation of how intra-party conflicts and warring factions within the Progress Party (PP) and 17 the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) affected the fortunes of both parties in the Second Republic of Ghana. She remarked that: The PP’s house was divided not only ethnically but also on an age basis. Similar cleavages developed in the NAL, as young educated Ewes, disconcerted with the leadership, revolted against the party hierarchy (Chazan, 1983:53). Fordwor’s (2010) book, The Danquah-Busia Tradition in the Politics of Ghana, to a larger extent re-echoed Naomi Chazan’s claim. Fordwor gave an account of how ideological rift between Kwame Nkrumah and the remaining leadership of the UGCC led to the formation of the first splinter party in Ghana, the CPP in 1949. He also referred to the belligerent factions within the PP which subsequently led to its disintegration and the formation of the Victor Owusu-led Popular Front Party (PFP) and the William Ofori Atta-led United National Convention (UNC) (Ibid). The fragmentation of the PP tradition ahead of the 1979 elections was believed to have offered the Nkrumahist-inspired PNP an electoral victory (Ibid). Finally, Fordwor recounted how the rivalry between the PFP and UNC compelled the UNC (Danquah- Busia) to support their political enemy, the PNP (Nkrumahists) in the 1979 presidential run-off between Hilla Limann and Victor Owusu (Ibid). According to him: In the presidential elections, the results of the first-round voting showed that the only way Victor Owusu could win the second round was if those who voted for Paa Willie and the UNC would swing behind their former allies in the PFP and vote for Victor Owusu. But this did not happen. Indeed, the figures would seem to suggest that many UNC supporters rather switched their votes to Dr. Limann (Fordwor, 2010:166). These studies establish evidence of intra-party conflicts and fragmentation among political traditions in Ghana. Even though these studies provide some historical antecedents of party fragmentation to the study, they over-concentrated on its prevalence within the Danquah- Busia-Dombo tradition from the pre-independence era to the Second Republic without any perspective from the Nkrumahist tradition. This study expands on these works to include the Nkrumahist fragmentation. 18 Bob-Milliar (2012b) contributed to the debate by outlining evidence of party fragmentation and internal conflicts within the NDC in the past. He showed how intra-party squabbles between the pro-Rawlings group - Friends of Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings (FONKAR) and anti-Rawlings - Get Atta Mills Elected (GAME) nearly plunged the party in chaos (Ibid). Furthermore, he provided evidence of how the National Reform Party (NRP) and the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) splintered from the NDC in 1999 and 2006 respectively, but rejoined the NDC fold when they failed to live up to expectation (Ibid). Consequently, some studies have sought to establish the impact of intra-party conflicts on the electoral successes of parties in Ghana. For instance, Nugent (2001) in his analysis of the 2000 general elections, attributed the NDC’s defeat partly to its succession problem which was exacerbated by internal wrangling of competing factions within the party. Similarly, Akuamoah (2017), in his recent study, expanded Fordwor and Bob-Milliar’s works. According to him, some of the factors that contributed to intra-party conflicts and party fragmentation within the NDC and NPP in the past include lack of internal democracy, struggle for power, ethnicity, factionalism, “paucity of ideology”, and “political god-fatherism”. Although these studies point out evidence of factionalism and fragmentation within the Danquah-Busia tradition and the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) government in the past, it is worth noting that these political traditions have over the years mastered the art of managing the problem to avoid unwarranted fragmentations and defections. What then accounts for the inability of the Nkrumahist parties to recover from their fragmentation? Just like the earlier works by Chazan and Fordwor, these works failed to account for the recurrent fragmentations within the Nkrumahist parties. This study extends these works by interrogating the persistent fragmentation within the Nkrumahists parties to ascertain the root causes of the problem and to attempt to offer remedial measures. 19 Admittedly, Addae-Mensah’s (2016) biography on Ex-President Dr. Hilla Limann and the recent publication by Bob-Milliar (2019) gave some hints on the possible causes of the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties. For instance, Addae-Mensah emphasized that: The re-emergence of factional inner-party struggles of the sixties and the competition for leadership contributed to the divisive nature of the Nkrumahist front ahead of the 1992 general elections in Ghana (Addae-Mensah, 2016: 605). Bob-Millar (2019) gave party patronage as the reason for the fissures in the Nkrumahist groups. However, these studies point to sole causal factors. My study complements these works by examining the multi-causal factors that have made it difficult for the Nkrumahist parties to recover from their recurrent fragmentations in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. 2.1.3 Studies on Nkrumahism Nkrumahism, as a political ideology, can be traced to the socio-political ideas and writings of the first President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. He used most of his work to develop the principles and philosophies of the ideology. The most notable ones are Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for Decolonization (1964), Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965), Class Struggle in Africa (1970), etc. Nkrumah (1964) in his Consciencism work established the link between the African personality of communal living and socialism as a political ideology. He theorized that the western imposed capitalism will compel most newly African to relapse into the old exploitative systems under colonialism (Ibid). In line with this, Nkrumah stressed that “Capitalism at home is domestic colonialism” (p. 74). Similarly, Nkrumah (1970a) attributed colonialism and neo- colonialism to the bourgeoisie political and economic aspirations of capitalism. He further cited the growing level of tribalism in Africa as an end result of class conflicts in African society (Ibid). As a way forward, Nkrumah advocated the need for newly independent African states to adopt what he generally described as ‘African socialism’ (Ibid). 20 In his 1965 publication Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, Nkrumah warned newly African states on the dangers of neocolonialism. He argued that colonialism, though, has ended, still manifests in situations where African countries are independent and have international sovereignty in theory, but controlled from the outside in reality, citing the use of ideological and cultural means (Ibid). As a remedial measure, Nkrumah in his work Africa Must Unite advocated for a continental union government for African states to deal with the vestige colonialism and neo-colonialism (Nkrumah, 1970b). Though some of the assertions in these works have been critiqued as ‘utopian’, the manifestations of the ills of the international order as pointed by Kwame Nkrumah are the realities of the international system now. These works provide the study with some philosophical foundation of Nkrumahism. Equally, some scholars have also written extensively on Nkrumah’s political philosophy and personality (MacRae, 1966; Carmichael, 1973; Jones, 1976; Afari-Gyan, 1976, among others). The works of Carmichael (1973) and Jones (1976) converged when both authors referred to Nkrumahism as the scientific socialism adopted by newly independent African states in the 1960s. These assertions were validated through MacRae’s rendition of the concept as proposed by the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute. According to him: Nkrumahism is the ideology of the new Africa, independent and absolutely free from imperialism, organized on a continental scale, founded upon the conception of one and united Africa, drawing its strength from modern science and technology and from the traditional African belief that the free development of each is the condition of the free development of all (MacRae, 1966:536). The Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute, as noted earlier, was established at Winneba in Ghana to push a Pan-African agenda and to support freedom fighters in most colonized states in Africa to fight for independence in the 1960s (Apter, 1972). Three things can be inferred from the studies. Firstly, Nkrumahism was a widely adopted political ideology of newly 21 independent African states in the 1960s, which in one way or the other benefited from the support of Nkrumah in the fight against colonialism. Secondly, the ideology embraces socialist propositions and state-led approach to development. Finally, Nkrumahism sought to promote the welfare of the masses within an economy. These works help this study to appreciate Nkrumahism as a political idea and what its associated parties stand for. Afari-Gyan (1976) in his book Political Ideas of Kwame Nkrumah, provided a summary of Nkrumah’s philosophies. There are three (3) main guiding principles of Nkrumahism. These are: (i) “African Socialism - underpinned by the principles, ideals, practices, habits, and orientations that are peculiar to Africa” (Ibid:197); (ii) Strict abhorrence of neocolonialism, which in Nkrumah’s view is the existence of “international capitalist, neocolonialist conspiracy against Africa’s reconstruction” (Ibid: 217); and (iii) “African Unity - the need to form a continental union government to close the ranks against neocolonialist forces” (Ibid: 219). Notwithstanding the major propositions of Nkrumahism as advanced by Afari-Gyan, he had some reservations about some aspect of Nkrumah’s conceptions. He remarked: First, some aspects of it [Nkrumah’s conceptions] are objectionable. These should be discarded and appropriate substitutes found for them. Second, some of his concepts require timing and further elaboration. Third, even those of his ideas that are particularly pertinent to the African situation do not so much offer solutions to Africa’s problems as suggest a framework for analysis (Afari-Gyan, 1976: 234). Some of the reservations raised by Afari-Gyan are plausible because, the African Socialism aspects of Nkrumahism, just like Julius Nyerere’s Ujamaa, have generally been seen as social theorization without the required blueprint to ensure their realization. Indeed, it has been maintained that if the blueprint of Nkrumahism was sound, the dream of a socialist united Africa would not had faded after Nkrumah’s demise (Frimpong, 2012). The onus, however, lies with African intellectuals to develop new theories or substitutes for the objectionable aspects of existing ones to bridge the gap between theory and practice. 22 Bekoe’s (2014) study substantiated the principles raised earlier by Afari-Gyan. He outlined self-determination, Pan-Africanism and anti-imperialism as the major principles of Nkrumahism. However, the principles of Nkrumahism, as highlighted by the works of Afari- Gyan and Bekoe somewhat defeat the relevance of the ideology in contemporary times due to its over-concentration on the liberation of colonized states. Debrah (2004) affirmed this challenge when he argued that the changes in the international order in the mid-1980s rendered the CPP’s conceptions of Nkrumahism unattractive to the ordinary Ghanaian voter. Furthermore, African scholars like Ali Mazrui critiqued the resilience of the ideological blueprint of Nkrumahism (Mazrui, 1997). To Mazrui, Nkrumahism as an ideology lost its relevance after the withdrawal and demise of its architect, Kwame Nkrumah (Ibid). Gordon’s (2017) work also pointed to the lack of clarity in the ideology as the likely cause of the recurrent fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties. Interestingly, scholars like Chazan rebutted some of these critiques that were leveled against the ideology in the 1960s. For instance, she stressed that: ...Nkrumahism dealt extensively, and systematically with colonialism and anti- colonialism…Nkrumahism laid out a vision of the key instrument of state construction… Nkrumahism propounded a vast, ambitious notion of political pan- Africanism that envisaged the future consolidation of a major all-Africa superpower (Chazan, 1983:120). My study contributes to the debate on the relevance of Nkrumahism to the politics of Ghana’s Fourth Republic, looking at the continued dominance of the NPP and NDC and also to test Gordon’s claims of the nexus between ideology and party fragmentation. For the purpose of clarification, parties that traces their roots and profess to Nkrumahism in Ghana includes the Convention People’s Party (CPP), People’s National Convention (PNC), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and All People’s Congress (APC). Though the NDC in its formation co-opted most Nkrumahists, the party does not profess to Nkrumahism but subscribes to social democracy. 23 2.1.4 Studies on Ghanaian politics Several studies have been devoted to the politics of Ghana from the pre-colonial era through to independence (Kimble, 1963; Austin, 1970; Nugent, 1995; Gyekye, 2008). Kimble (1963) gave an account of the political development in the Gold Coast from the 1850s through to the introduction of the elective principle in the1920s, where traditional leaders and indigenous elite were included in the administration of the Gold Coast. Austin (1970) contributed to the discourse on the politics of Ghana when he recounted how the growing nationalism and the heightened call for independence in the then Gold Coast led to the formation of the UGCC and the CPP. He argued that the UGCC emerged in August 1947 as the first political party in the then Gold Coast to demand self-government and Kwame Nkrumah was brought in on January 1948 to serve as the party’s general secretary (Ibid). Furthermore, the difference in ideology between Kwame Nkrumah and the leadership of the UGCC compelled him and other young members of the UGCC’s youth wing such as Kojo Botsio to break away to form the CPP in June 1949 (Ibid). This, according to Austin paved way for the emergence of the two main political cleavages in Ghana – the Danquah-Busia and Nkrumahist traditions (Ibid). Finally, he gave a graphic account of how the CPP dominated the 1951, 1954 and 1956 elections and subsequently oppressed the opposition through the use of the Preventive Detention Act (PDA) (Ibid). Nugent (1995) added other interesting dynamics to the literature when he described the politics in Ghana as an interplay between the ‘big men’ versus ‘small boys’. He described the CPP’s 1951 electoral victory over the UGCC as a triumph of the ‘Small boys’ over the ‘Big men’ (Ibid). Furthermore, he argued that there is always “the tendency for ‘small boys’ to transform themselves into ‘big men’ once they are in office” (Nugent, 1995:6). To back these claims, Nugent showed how senior CPP politicians capitalized on their portfolios to propel themselves into ‘big men’. 24 Two things can be deduced from these studies. First, the act of nationalism and the quest for colonial liberation necessitated the formation of political movements in Ghana. Second, party fragmentation is not a new phenomenon in Ghanaian politics because it can be traced to the colonial politics of Ghana with the breaking away of the CPP from the UGCC as an example. These scholarly works provide some historical antecedents to the study. However, they are limited in scope. For instance, Austin’s work overly concentrated on the pre-independence to the post-1960s politics of Ghana, citing numerous reasons for the continued electoral dominance of the CPP, but failed to account for the sudden decline in support for the party in subsequent years. Nugent’s work extended the history to cover the politics of the early 1990s, but overly concentrated on the PNDC-NDC era. In lieu of these, my study sets out to extend Austin’s (1970) work to cover the politics of Ghana’s Fourth Republic to ascertain the political dilemmas of the CPP, an independence party that once dominated the politics of Ghana. Apart from the interesting renditions of the pre- and post-independence politics of Ghana, the period 1972-1986 witnessed a torrent of writings on the turbulent periods in Ghanaian politics. Some notable ones are Ghana in Transition by Apter (1972), Austin & Luckham (1975) edited Politicians and Soldiers in Ghana (1966-1972) and Ghana: Coping with Uncertainty by Pellow & Chazan (1986). Other works include Hutchful (1979) and Agyeman-Duah (2008). Apter (1972) in his book Ghana in Transition set the tone for discourse on turbulent periods in Ghanaian politics. To him: …Ghana transitioned from a liberal democratic form of government with a dominant one-party state at independence, overthrown in a military coup… the military regime restored liberal democracy, with a dominant political party which was thrust aside by a second military coup” (Apter, 1972: 362). Austin & Luckham (1975) extended Apter's conclusions. Their book found how the fifteen- year rule of the CPP’s regime was brought to an abrupt end in February 1966 with its heroic 25 days blotted. It further identified factors such as the general cutbacks in government expenditure on the security forces, the personal ambitions of some officers and, the perceived anti-Ewe attitude of the Busia administration as the reasons for the overthrow of the Progress Party (PP) in 1972 (Ibid). Hutchful (1979) re-echoed the earlier findings by Austin and Luckham when he argued that persistent economic crises after the 1966 and 1972 coups might have served as the basis for subsequent coups. He emphasized that: The repeated overthrow of civilian politicians, the assumption of direct power and the increasing dominance of the military and bureaucracy, has been essential due to the failure of civilian political cadres, also rooted in the Ghanaian petty- bourgeoisie (Hutchful, 1979: 41). Furthermore, Pellow & Chazan (1986) described the period 1966-1981 as the “pendulum of Ghanaian politics” (p. 36). To them, the post-independence political history of Ghana was marred by what they generally described as “sharp fluctuations and growing uncertainty” under different regimes (Ibid). They recounted how the SMC I (reconstituted NLC) was overthrown in a palace coup in 1978 by General Fred Akuffo-led SMC II (Ibid). It is worth noting that the SMC II was also toppled by the Rawlings-led AFRC in 1979 and Ghana was returned to a civilian rule after the 1979 elections (Ibid). Interestingly, the authors further recounted how the AFRC which was lauded for its return of political power to a civilian government staged a comeback in 1981 to overthrow the same civilian government they relinquished power to in 1979 (Ibid). Oquaye’s (1980) and (2004) works gave a graphic description of the 1979 and 1981 coups and detailed instances of human rights abuses by the military juntas. In his 2004 work, he attributed the 31st December 1981 coup to Limann’s disregard for the people, political liberty, rule of law and fundamental rights of Ghanaians. 26 Agyeman-Duah’s (2008) edited book validated the earlier assertions by scholars like Apter, Austin, Chazan, and others. He showed how the regimes in Ghana were short-lived through multiple coups d’état in 1966, 1972, 1978, 1979 and 1981 by the NLC, NRC, SMC II, AFRC, and the PNDC respectively. Professor Francis Nkrumah (Nkrumah’s first son) in an interview with Jacob Gordon attributed the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist tradition to the 1966 coup and the absence of cohesive leadership like that of Nkrumah (Gordon, 2017). These works help to trace Ghana’s political transitions (democratic and undemocratic) from post-independence to the Third Republic. It can also be inferred that out of the five (5) coups, two of them, notably, 1966 and 1981 overthrew two legitimate Nkrumahist governments – views echoed in Gordon’s book. This study sets out to complement these works in two ways. First, to ascertain the nexus between the 1966 and 1981 coups and the recurrent fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties. Second, to unravel the impact of these coups on the performance of the Nkrumahist tradition in Gordon’s work. 2.1.5 Studies on the Nkrumahist Tradition and Ghana’s Fourth Republican Politics There is a burgeoning literature on the politics of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. However, most of these works only increased our understanding of elections and voter behaviour (Arthur, 2009; Ayee, 2011; Ayee, 2017, Frempong, 2017; etc.), governance (Agyeman-Duah (ed.), 2008; etc.) and democratic consolidation (Jeffries, 1998; Abdulai & Crawford, 2010; Akuamoah, 2017, etc.). However, just a few have devoted attention to the political strategies and problems of the Nkrumahist parties in the politics of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. The most notable ones include Essuman-Johnson (1993), Jeffries & Thomas (1993), Addae-Mensah (2016) and Bob-Milliar (2019). For instance, Essuman-Johnson (1993) noted the challenge of intraparty democracy among political parties in Ghana, citing evidence of the splits in the Nkrumahist tradition and PNDC 27 government as the effects. He argued that splits in political parties normally occur when there is a dearth of democratic values like compromise and tolerance (Ibid). He pointed out how the Nkrumahist front got divided by the emergence splinter parties like the People’s National Convention (PNC), National Independence Party (NIP), the People's Heritage Party (PHP) and the National Convention Party (NCP) ahead of the 1992 elections (Ibid). In view of this: The leader of the PNC - Dr. Hilla Limann left the CPP fold to form his own party on realizing that he might not get the leadership if he stayed in the fold. The rumblings and various reasons being given for not staying together in the CPP fold smacks of an internal party machine being manned by people whose minds have been made upon who should be the presidential candidate, and of the lack of a spirit of compromise” (Essuman-Johnson, 1993: 201). Jeffries & Thomas (1993) resonated with Essuman-Johnson’s view when they attributed the poor electoral performance of the Nkrumahist parties to their inability to present a united front ahead of the 1992 elections. They emphasized that: The National Independence Party (NIP) had the largest concentration of CPP 'old guard' politicians and appeared to be dominated, more especially, by its seventy-six- year-old leader, Kojo Botsio. The ex-President of the Third Republic, Dr. Hilla Limann, found little support in the NIP (or any other Nkrumahist party) for the idea of his standing as their presidential candidate in 1992 and so formed his own vehicle, the People's National Convention (PNC). The People's Heritage Party (PHP) grew out of a grouping of younger, more seriously policy minded Nkrumahists, who were reluctant to accept domination by, or even too close an association with, the 'old guard' politicians (Jeffries & Thomas, 1993: 343). Similarly, Addae-Mensah (2016) contributed to this debate in his biography of Dr. Hilla Limann. He outlined some factors that stalled the unity of the Nkrumahist tradition at the inception of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. He argued that “… the re-emergence of factional inner- party struggles of the sixties and the competition for leadership” contributed to the divisive nature of the Nkrumahist front ahead of the 1992 general elections in Ghana (Addae-Mensah, 2016: 605). He also gave an account of attempts to unify the Nkrumahist front in the past, citing issues of personality ego and a dearth of consensus as the key problems that stalled unity talks in the past (Ibid). 28 Two major issues can be deduced from these studies. First, these studies point to the fact that lack of internal democratic elements within any political entity can lead to fissures and its eventual collapse. Second, party fragmentation, to some extent, can affect the electoral performance of any political party. These works provided some background information in the study by indicating the genesis of the tradition’s problem and its effect on its electoral performance in the past. It is sad to note that the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties still persists and affected their chances in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and the 2016 elections in Ghana. This study sets out to contribute to the debate by extending the works of Jefferies and Thomas and Essuman-Johnson in two main ways. First, it finds out the impact of party fragmentation on the performance of political parties. Second, it proffers some recommendations to deal with the recurring fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties to make them viable in Ghanaian politics Political scientists have established the rationale behind the political behaviour of minor parties in competitive party systems across the globe. Satori (2005), for instance, argued that the poor performance of most minor parties across the globe compels them to devise numerous political marketing strategies to survive and avoid extinction (Ibid). These normally include inventing coalition and patronage potentials with ‘major’ parties in return for political spoils (Ibid). The resultant effect sometimes ends up creating internal problems for these minor parties. The works of Kufour (2008) and Bob-Milliar (2019) on Ghana in which they cited the case of the Nkrumahist parties like the CPP and PNC in Ghana’s Fourth Republican politics reinforced Satori’s findings. Kufour (2008) provided instances where minor parties in Ghana like the CPP and PNC activated coalition and political patronage strategies to advance their own interests. He showed how the CPP and PNC supported the NPP to win the 2000 election run-off and were 29 subsequently rewarded with ministerial portfolios and seats on boards of public corporations and enterprises (Ibid). He also recounted how this strategy was repeated in the 2008 election run-off, with the CPP and PNC rooting for the NDC (Ibid). Similarly, Bob-Milliar (2019) re-echoed Kufour’s findings. He indicated how the Nkrumahist parties resorted to playing ‘king-maker’ roles in the politics of Ghana’s Fourth Republic due to their poor electoral performance. He averred that “the survival of the Nkrumahist minor parties can only be understood within the wider context of competitive elections and their related opportunities for party patronage” (Bob-Milliar, 2019:18). He further argued that the party patronage strategy adopted by the Nkrumahists parties to secure some political spoils from the two leading parties in Ghana’s Fourth Republican politics, namely, the NPP and NDC deepened the pre-existing factionalism within their ranks as well as diminished their electoral prospects. Kufour and Bob-Milliar’s works are significant to this thesis in two ways. Firstly, they emphasized party patronage by the Nkrumahist minor parties as a contributing factor to the fragmentation of the tradition in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. Secondly, the studies helped to appreciate the rationale behind the actions (coalition and patronage potential) of minor parties. This thesis complements these studies by exploring other dynamics that equally contribute to the recurrent squabbles of the Nkrumahists parties and its effect on their performance. With respect to electoral gains in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, a large chunk of existing literature has sought to explain the rationale for the political duopoly of the NPP and NDC (Agyeman- Duah, 2005; Daddieh & Bob-Milliar, 2014; Yobo & Gyampo, 2015; Agomor, 2019; etc.). Most of these works have outlined factors such as ethnic-bloc voting, dominant party identification, etc. as the reasons for the continued dominance of the NPP and NDC in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. In effect, other parties, mostly Nkrumahists have been relegated to the political 30 fringes with little or no representation at all. A look at the electoral results in Ghana from 1992 indicates the poor electoral performance of all Nkrumahists parties that have contested elections in Ghana since 1992 to 2016 (Tables 2.1 and 2.2). Table 2.1: Percentage Vote (Presidential Elections) of the Nkrumahist Parties:1992-2016 PARTY/ YEAR 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 PHP 1.85% - - - - - - NIP 2.85 - - - - - - CPP - - 1.8% 1% 1.3% 0.18% 0.24% PNC 6.7% 3% 2.9% 1.92% 0.9% 0.22% 0.21% GCPP - - 1% - - 0.35% - PPP - - - - - 0.59% 1% Source: Author’s compilation from Electoral Commission of Ghana, 2019. Table 2.2: Number of Parliamentary Seats won by the Nkrumahist Parties: 1992 -2016 PARTY/YEAR 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 NCP 8 - - - - - - PCP - 5 - - - - - CPP - - 1 3 1 - - PNC - 1 3 4 2 1 - GCPP - - - - - - - PPP - - - - - - - Source: Author’s compilation from Electoral Commission of Ghana, 2019. The abysmal performance of the Nkrumahist tradition has been attributed to several factors, with the prominent one being its excessive fragmentation. In addition to the factors of fragmentation, this thesis also examines some measures that can be instituted by the Nkrumahist parties to help them recover from the endless fragmentation and make them a more viable third force to be reckoned with in the 2020 general elections. 31 2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This section of the chapter is devoted to the theoretical foundation of the study. The theory of party change forms the theoretical framework of this study. The origin, propositions, justifications, strengths, and weaknesses of the theory will be discussed. 2.2.1 Origin of the theory of party change The theory of party change traces its philosophical underpinnings from the work of Kenneth Janda, towards a performance theory of change in political parties, which was published in 1990. The theory later got empirical validations in 1995 after Janda’s subsequent works with scholars like Robert Hamel, Uk Heo Alexander Tan, Christine Edens and Patricia Goff on “Performance, Leadership, Factions and Party Change: An Empirical Analysis”, “An Integrated Theory of Party Goals and Party Change”, and” Changes in Party Identity: Evidence from Party Manifestos” respectively contributing to it. Some recent publications have also employed the theory to explain certain changes that occur within political parties. For instance, Harmel & Tan (2003) adopted the theory of party change to explain the impact of factionalism on party actors and party change in general. Somer-Topcu (2009) also used the theory to establish the effect of past elections on policy changes within political parties. 2.2.2 Propositions of the theory of Party Change The theory of party change has the following assumptions: 1. Leadership crises and unwarranted factional displacement within any political entity can culminate in party change. The struggle for party dominance and control of apparatus as noted earlier remains inevitable in any political party (Hamel et.al.,1995). Harmel & Janda (1994) theorized that almost all political parties have recognizable factions, but the displacement of a faction within a party by another leadership 32 (victorious faction) on the basis of difference in party identity, organization and structure lead to party change. These changes, mostly result in the organizational breakdown of the party which manifests in the emergence of splinters, mergers, and coalitions with other parties or voluntary dissolution of the parties (Harmel & Tan, 2003; Janda, 1990). 2. Political parties are driven by a goal-oriented motive. Therefore, “parties that do not perform well experience pressures for change” (Janda, 1990: 9). Harmel & Janda (1994) further theorized that the more electoral failures are pronounced in vote-seeking parties, the more they are likely to change. Accordingly, non- performing political parties are more likely to change their “political tactics, structures, orientations, organizational identity, and goals” (Janda, 1990: 17). In effect, a political party’s performance in elections acts as stimuli to trigger party change (Janda et.al, 1995; Somer-Topcu, 2009). 3. That political parties are likely to undergo some internal changes in anticipation of changes in environmental factors such as the political system and socio-economic dynamics (Janda,1990; Harmel et.al, 1994). Some of these changes in the political system that compel a party to make internal reforms include modifications of electoral rules and legislative frameworks (Ibid). 2.2.3 Justification for the theory of party change One major theory that explains the conflicts within any political entity aside from the theory of party change is the elite theory. The elite theory traces some of its philosophical foundations from Robert Michels’ work on the Iron Law of Oligarchy. It argues that small groups of individuals within political parties over time tend to become more powerful and run the affairs of the party to suit their own benefits without recourse to the views of other members (Michels, 2009). 33 Another advocate of the elite theory is Thomas Dye. He postulated that “society is divided into the few who have power and the many who do not and only a small number of persons allocate values for society” (Dye, 2013: 24). In sum, the elite theory presupposes that decisions within any political setting are taken by a minority who possesses political and economic power (Higley, 2008). Furthermore, the theory predicts the possible eruption of class conflicts between the ‘elites’ and ‘non-elites’ due to the dearth of consensus and compromise among individuals involved (Ibid). Though the elite theory has overly been used to explain class conflicts within political parties, it has failed to explain the impact of these conflicts on the operations of political parties. The theory also fell short on the vagueness of the term ‘elite’ making it difficult to distinguish an ‘elite’ from a ‘non-elite’. The theory of party change, on the other hand, does not only identify the causes of party conflicts, but also goes a step further to describe the impact of these conflicts on the existence and performance of political parties. It highlights the effects of the interplay of dominant factions on party unity. The theory of party change also establishes the nexus between intra- party conflicts, poor electoral performance and its resultant effects on party fragmentation. These characteristics, among others, influenced the choice of the theory of party change over the elite theory as the theoretical framework of the study. 34 2.2.4 Strengths of the theory The theory of party change has the following merits: 1. It provides insights into the dynamics of party fragmentation and cites evidence of how dominant faction leadership over the other within a party results in splits. 2. It explains the link between poor electoral performance and the formation of splinter and coalition parties by former leaders. 3. It offers a framework for non-performing political parties to re-structure their parties with the hope of overturning their electoral misfortunes. In line with this, Somer-Topcu (2009) argued that political parties are expected to respond to electoral losses of previous elections by amending policy positions for subsequent elections. 4. It informs what goes into manifesto drafting of non-performing political parties for subsequent elections after successive electoral defeats. In effect, non-performing parties are compelled to modify their policy prescriptions ahead of subsequent elections (Janda et.al, 1995). 2.2.5 Weaknesses of the theory The theory of party change is also associated with the following weaknesses: 1. It best applies to political parties that are oriented towards winning in competitive elections. However, it can be modified to suit minor parties in other systems (Janda, 1990). 2. It over-emphasizes electoral performance as the major indicator for party change whiles other factors such as struggles among factions, changes in the political system, society and economy equally trigger party change. 35 2.2.6 Deployment of the Theory From the review of literature, party fragmentation was flagged as a major impediment to the electoral fortunes of political parties. Since the theory of party change draws a nexus between intra-party conflicts and party fragmentation, the study employs the theory to examine the rationale behind the unending fragmentation within Nkrumahist parties in Ghana. The theory also establishes the link between electoral performance and party splits. It is worth noting that some of the splinter parties from the Nkrumahist tradition were formed by former flag bearers who led unsuccessful electoral attempts. This study adopts the theory of party change to explain why leaders of the Nkrumahist parties normally defect to form their own parties after a poor electoral performance. 2.2.7 Conclusion This chapter has provided an in-depth review of the literature and the theoretical framework underpinning the thesis. The literature review section of the chapter pointed out the relevance of political parties to the sustenance of modern-day democracy in any country. It also examined the impact of fragmentation on the existence of political parties and their electoral prospects. Furthermore, the literature review section stressed the evidence of party fragmentation in Ghanaian politics, citing classical evidence from the NDC, NPP and the Nkrumahist parties. Finally, it examined the recurrent failure of the Nkrumahist parties to recover from fragmentation, hence the motivation of this study to investigate this trend. The second section of this chapter examined the theory of party change as the theoretical framework for the study. This section also pointed out justifications for the choice of the theory of party change over the elite theory which equally explains the conflicts within any political entity. Though the elite theory explained the genesis of intra-party conflicts, it failed to forecast the impact of these conflicts on the existence of political parties. The theory of party change, on the other hand, offered an all-encompassing explanation on the origin of intra-party conflicts 36 and its impacts on political parties. For instance, the theory of party change stressed the impact of electoral performance and the interplay of the dominant factions on party change (fragmentation, mergers, etc.). Though there were some identifiable flaws with the theory, its merits strengthened its potency to explain the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist parties in Ghana. 37 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction This chapter is devoted to the methodology of the study. Specifically, it covers the research design, targeted population, sample size, sampling techniques, sources of data, tools for data collection, ethical issues and instrument for data analysis with its associated merits and demerits. 3.1 Research Design According to Welman & Kruger (2001), research design is the technique used to determine the nature of data to be collected and the specific respondents to arrive at valid conclusions for research objectives. Creswell and Poth (2018) also indicated that a research design can either adopt the quantitative, qualitative or mixed-method approaches. This study adopted the qualitative method of inquiry in order to obtain expert knowledge on the phenomenon of party fragmentation in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. The qualitative method of inquiry is essentially “inductive, with the inquirer generating meaning from the data collected in the field” (Creswell,2003:9). Creswell further pointed out that the qualitative mode of inquiry could be “narratives, phenomenologies, ethnographies, grounded theory studies, or case studies” (Creswell,2003:14-15). Though some quantitative models can be employed to explain human behaviour as in the case opinion polls, this study employed the qualitative method of inquiry which is widely used to explore a sudden change in a behavioural pattern. Specifically, the study used the case study approach due to its potency to thoroughly explain political party fragmentation and more specifically why the Nkrumahist parties in Ghana have failed to recover from fragmentation. 38 3.1.1 Case Study approach As noted earlier, this study adopted the case study approach to explain the reasons behind the recurrent failure of the Nkrumahist parties to recover from their fragmentation. The choice of the case study approach for the study was somewhat influenced by the works of Creswell (2003) and Yin (2003). For instance, Creswell pointed out that case study methods allow “researchers to explore in-depth a program, an event, an activity or a process” (Creswell, 2003:15). Researchers have always advocated the use of ‘how’ and ‘why’ in probing a phenomenon. In line with this, scholars like Yin (2003) and Baxter & Jack (2008) averred that the use of case studies in research focus on providing answers to ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions. Advocates of the case study approach to research like Yin (2014) and Denzin & Lincoln (2018) have outlined some typologies of case studies. These include descriptive and exploratory studies, hypothesis testing and development of the normative theory (Ibid). The descriptive case study approach involves “drawing on methods of document review, participant observation, and in-depth interviews to understand the experiences, perspectives, and worldviews of people in a particular set of circumstances” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2018: 607-608). It is worth noting that the descriptive case study approach helps to explain a phenomenon from different perspectives. For instance, the works of Akuamoah (2017) and Bob-Milliar (2012b) used the case study approach to explain the dynamics of intra-party conflicts and party fragmentation within the NPP and NDC. This study contributes to the debate on party fragmentation in Ghana by using a similar approach to explain why the Nkrumahist tradition in Ghana has failed to recover from their fissures. The adoption of the case study approach is associated with the following merits: 1. It helps researchers to generate several studies on a similar phenomenon in order to establish and examine the trends (Denzin & Lincoln, 2018). In line with this, the study 39 used the case study approach to build on established cases on party fragmentation in Ghana by bringing into perspective the Nkrumahist case which has not received the needed attention. 2. Case studies make it possible for researchers to generate data sets that can be used to “juxtapose conflicting evidence, freeing up the curious mind to rethink the relationships between data points” (Ibid:611). 3. The approach helps researchers to conduct a detailed inquiry of a social phenomenon (Kaarbo & Beasley, 1999). Despite the aforementioned merits, the case study research design has the following demerits: 1. It has been criticized often as unrepresentative. The case study approach has been critiqued for its over-reliance on the researcher’s subjective interpretation of a phenomenon which is mostly influenced by their biases (Bryman, 2004). 2. Academics who indulge in case study research find it difficult to generalize the findings of their studies (Denzin & Lincoln, 2018). It is normally restricted to specific cases, making it difficult to generalize findings. Nonetheless, some of the critiques leveled against the case study and qualitative approaches of inquiry, in general, have been rebutted. For instance, Bassey (1981:85) averred that the “reliability of a case study is more important than its generalizability”. The qualitative research approach and its associated typologies have proven to be an authentic means of obtaining scientific knowledge despite the criticisms. 3.2 Data Collection The data collection stage remains paramount to every research process. It involves the design of strategies as well as data collection instruments to obtain relevant information for a study 40 (Burnham, et.al, 2008). The study employed two major data sources - primary and secondary data sources. 3.2.1 Primary and Secondary Data Primary data is undeniably the purest form of data source because it is mostly first-hand or unfiltered information (Persaud, 2010). The primary data source remains valuable in historical research because of its potency to connect to the past (Ibid). Given the nature of the study, there is the need to obtain first-hand information from certain individuals who have in-depth knowledge of the fissures within Nkrumahist parties. In effect, the primary data of the study was obtained from party technocrats within Nkrumahist parties, academics and journalists who specialize in the political history of Ghana to validate or refute some established assertions on the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist tradition. Just like the primary data sources, the impact of secondary data sources in any research process cannot be underestimated. According to McGinn (2008), secondary data is mostly preexisting and collected by researchers for other purposes. It is mostly obtained from existing researchers’ databases, government repositories, ‘public and private’ archives, and institutional databases (Ibid). The secondary data for the study was obtained from journals, articles, books and other existing references that were deemed relevant to the study. 3.3 Population The population in research has been defined as “the entire collection of entities one seeks to understand or…seeks to draw an inference” (Litt, 2010: 1053). The targeted population for this study was party technocrats of the Nkrumahist parties, academics who specialize in the political history of Ghana and journalists with a keen interest in Ghanaian politics. This helped to obtain the needed information from individuals with expert knowledge and first-hand information on the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist groups. 41 3.4 Sampling Technique and Sample Size Sampling in research is a very important stage because it helps to decipher research design and methods used by a researcher. A sampling technique devoid of the researcher’s bias can be described as reliable and representative of the entire population’s opinion (Fritz & Morgan, 2010). This study employed the non-probability sampling technique. Non-probability sampling entails a subjective selection of respondents based on their fore-knowledge of a phenomenon under research (Crouch & Housden, 2003). It is further categorized into purposive, convenience, quota and the snow-balling effect (Sharma, 2017). The study made use of the purposive and snowball sampling techniques to draw from respondents who had in-depth knowledge of the fragmentation of the Nkrumahist tradition in Ghana. Although the purposive sampling has been criticized for researchers’ bias, it remains convenient and ideal for exploratory research design (Taherdoost, 2016). Taherdoost (2016:22) further defined the snowball technique as a “non-random sampling method that uses a few cases to help encourage other cases to take part in the study, thereby increasing sample size”. The snowball sampling helped recruit prospective respondents from and among the acquaintances of respondents who are Nkrumahists. The choice of non- probability sampling over the probability sampling method was influenced by the need to avoid the possibility of targeting respondents who have little or no information on the subject matter. In effect, the choice of the non-probability sampling method gave the leeway to draw from experts’ knowledge on the phenomenon of party fragmentation in Ghana. The sample size of every research remains a crucial component of the research design. Unlike quantitative research, the qualitative research design normally requires a smaller number of respondents in order to obtain detailed data (Borrego et al., 2009). In view of this, twenty-two (22) respondents were interviewed for the study. 42 The breakdown is as follows: • Ten (10) national party executives; two each from the Nkrumahist parties- CPP, PNC, APC, PPP and GCPP. • Two (2) past national executives; one each from CPP and PNC. • Four (4) former flagbearers; two each from the CPP and