ABSTRACT

Presidentialism has become the preferred system of government in Africa since the emergence of the third wave of democracy on the continent in the late 1980s. This chapter focuses on Ghana's presidential system; by examining the checks and balances that exists between the executive, especially the presidency and the legislative arm of government. It investigates the institutional effectiveness for ensuring good governance through the operation of horizontal accountability. The chapter discusses Ghana's current democratic dispensation within political, historical and cultural context. When the global third democratic wave reached Ghana in the early 1990s it conjoined with domestic forces to demolish the power monopolisation system that was in vogue. It demanded the liberalisation of the political space and a reintroduction of liberal democratic form of governance. The chapter examines the capacity of Ghana's parliament under the fourth republic in fulfilling its constitutional role of guaranteeing the interest of the people by checking the abuse of power.