A presidential democracy with a British-style parliament, two big parties that trace their roots to the independence era, chiefs who stay out of party politics, and elections that change governments peacefully.
Ghana is governed under the Constitution of 1992, approved by referendum, which founded the Fourth Republic. It sets out an executive president, a single-chamber parliament, an independent judiciary and a long chapter of fundamental human rights. It is the fourth constitution since independence; the earlier ones were swept away by coups. Constitution Day, 7 January, marks its coming into force.
The Fourth Republic: the 1992 Constitution and every election sinceOn ghana-net.com.The president is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief, elected for four years and limited to two terms. The president appoints ministers, a large share of whom must be members of Parliament, and appoints the regional ministers and district chief executives. A Council of State advises the president.
The seat of the presidency is Jubilee House in Accra, built on the site of the old Flagstaff House, where Kwame Nkrumah once lived. Before that, Ghana's governments ruled from Osu Castle, the old Danish Christiansborg. Photography of Jubilee House and its surroundings is not permitted.
Jubilee House and Flagstaff HouseOn ghana-net.com. Presidents of GhanaEvery head of state since 1957.Ghana has a single-chamber Parliament of around 275 members, each elected in a constituency by first-past-the-post, as in Britain. It is led by the Speaker and sits in Parliament House in Accra; the Old Parliament House on High Street is where the Gold Coast's Legislative Council met in colonial times. Debates are in English, robust and often loud.
Parliament of GhanaOn ghana-net.com. Old Parliament HouseOn ghana-net.com.Ghana's legal system is based on English common law alongside Ghanaian customary law. The Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice, is the highest court and rules on the constitution, including disputed presidential elections. Below it sit the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the lower courts. The murder of three High Court judges in 1982 remains one of the darkest episodes in the country's history.
The three murdered judgesOn ghana-net.com.Ghana has many registered parties, but two dominate, and their roots go back to the split between Nkrumah and Danquah before independence.
Founded in 1992 by Jerry Rawlings; a social-democratic party in government under Rawlings, Mills and Mahama, and again since 2025. Colours: red, green, white and black.
Heir to the Danquah–Busia tradition of liberal, pro-business politics; in government under Kufuor and Akufo-Addo. Colours: red, white and blue, with the elephant as its symbol.
Nkrumah's party, which led the country to independence. Today it is small, but the Nkrumahist tradition still carries weight in Ghanaian politics, alongside other small parties such as the People's National Convention.
Independence and the Nkrumah–Danquah splitWhere the parties come from. The Big SixOn myghana2027.com.Presidential and parliamentary elections are held together every four years in December; the next are due in December 2028. The Electoral Commission runs them. A presidential candidate needs more than half the votes to win in the first round, or there is a run-off. Since 1992 power has changed hands between the NDC and the NPP through the ballot box several times, and losing candidates have challenged results in the Supreme Court rather than on the streets. In a region where coups have returned, that record is Ghana's proudest political achievement.
Ghana has 16 regions, each with a regional minister appointed by the president, and more than 250 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, whose chief executives are also appointed. There have been long debates about electing them instead.
Alongside the state stand the traditional authorities: kings, paramount chiefs, chiefs and queen mothers, organised in regional houses of chiefs and the National House of Chiefs. The constitution bars chiefs from party politics, but their influence over land, local disputes and public opinion is enormous.
Regions of GhanaAll 16 regions and their capitals. Traditional kingdoms and chieftainciesOn ghana-net.com.Led by the Inspector-General of Police. Visitors meet the police mainly at road checkpoints. Stay polite, carry a copy of your passport, and ask for a receipt if asked to pay anything. In an emergency, call 112 or the police on 191.
The army, navy and air force are headquartered at Burma Camp in Accra, named after the Gold Coast Regiment's service in Burma in the Second World War. The armed forces that once staged coups now have a strong reputation as one of Africa's leading contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions.
The old cemetery near the stadium holds graves going back to colonial times, including soldiers of the world wars, and has suffered from neglect.
Osu Military CemeteryOn ghana-net.com. Erased graves at OsuThe dedicated site. Ghana's ghostsThe graves they are letting die, on ghanamuseums.com. Ghana travel adviceCheckpoints, photography and the law.