Ghana's protests and political history signal the end for NPP in 2024

With the campaign season for Ghana’s general elections getting underway, the electorate may have already decided to vote the ruling NPP out of office in December 2024. 

There are three reasons for this view. The first is the eight-year cycle between the major parties, the second is a split within the NPP’s ranks, and the third is public discontent about the NPP’s corruption and mismanagement.

Breaking the 8

Since military rule ended in 1992 with a return to multi-party democracy, Ghana’s political landscape has been split between the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Then military ruler Jerry Rawlings stood for election twice in 1992 and 1996 on the NDC platform, winning both times. Since then, power has rotated between the NPP and NDC in eight-year cycles. This informs the NPP’s slogan for the 2024 elections – Breaking the 8 – which refers to their efforts to become the