POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR & PARTY POLITICS IN A DEMOCRACY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GHANA & NIGERIA
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Researchgate
Abstract
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Contemporary literature on emerging democracies identifies the art of elections as the ultimate
measure for democratic credentials in a country. “If free and fair elections are held regularly within a
constitutionally stipulated time frame” and, in particular, “where regime change occurs through such
elections”, they have argued, “are enough reasons for a country to be branded democratic”. Recent
studies conducted by Ghanaian and Nigerian Universities on Ghana and Nigeria elections since 1996
tend to affirm this view. In contesting such unqualified assessment, this paper argues that merely
conducting free and fair elections at regular intervals does not make a country democratic. Of
paramount importance is the quality of elections held and the meaning attached to them. These
features, the paper argues, are functions of enduring and sound party politics manifested in decent
political behaviour which are enshrined in the basic tenets of political party systems in any given
government. The descriptive and comparative critical method of analysis is adopted for examining the
dynamics of party politics and political behaviours between Ghana and Nigeria with the view to
determining their democratic status. Ultimately, the study attempts to show how the various
conceptions of political behaviour & party politics in these countries have drawn them either nearer or
further away from achieving democratization.
Keywords
JA Political science (General)