At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Ghana

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President John Agyekum KUFUOR *
• Head of Government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR
• Assembly: Ghana has a unicameral Parliament with 230 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Parliament 230 members are elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• John Agyekum KUFUOR
  • Party: New Patriotic Party (NPP)
• John Evans ATTA-MILLS
  • Party: National Democratic Congress (NDC)
• Edward MAHAMA
  • Party: People's National Convention (PNC)
• George AGGUDEY
  • Party: Convention People's Party (CPP)

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election took place on December 7 and 28, 2000. In this election, John Agyekum KUFUOR won the presidency with 56.4% of the valid votes while John Evans ATTA MILLS secured 43.6% of the votes.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 20,840,493 (2004)
• Registered Voters: 10,296,970 (December 2004 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 10,402,918 (2004)

·         Is Ghana a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Ghana ratified CEDAW: Yes (2 January 1985)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 25 (following the 2004 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 140 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Ghana a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Ghana ratified CRPD: Yes (31 July 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 3,126,073 (est.)