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Jerry Rawlings
After reading the talk page on the Jerry Rawlings Article, I have decided to re-organize the structure of the article and combine information from the article to my own, in hopes of promoting a more balanced outlook.

Missing information:
-2nd election results/background information

-basic upbringing information

-more info regarding coup attempt

-what made Rawlings give the government to Limann? what made him re-take it?

-what was the international response to Rawlings' killings of former government officials?

Other Issues
-slight bias towards Rawlings

Background/ Ideology
Jerry John Rawlings was born in Accra, Gold Coast, on 22 June 1947, to Victoria Agbotui (born 9 September 1919 in Dzelukope near Keta in what is now the Volta Region of Ghana), the mistress of James Ramsey John, a chemist from Castle Douglas in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. James married his first wife Mary in England and his descendants now live in Newcastle and London. Up until his death, James refused to recognize Rawlings as his son out of fear for his marriage with Mary. Rawlings attended Achimota School. Rawlings' family had little influence in his ideology, as the tribes his family belonged to, the Nzema and the Ewe, were sub-groups of minimal importance, and he was the only child born to his mother. It is in fact this lack of a prominent lineage that became a political advantage for Rawlings, as it signaled freedom from family or tribal pressures. Rawlings is married to Nana Konadu Agyeman, who he met in Achimota College, and they have three daughters: Ezanetor Rawlings, Yaa Asantewaa Rawlings, Amina Rawlings; and one son, Kimathi Rawlings.

Education
Rawlings finished his secondary education in Achimota College in 1967 and had no education outside of Ghana. He joined the Ghana air force shortly afterwards. In March, 1968, he was posted to Takoradi in the Western Region to continue his studies. He graduated in January 1969, and was commissioned a Pilot Officer, winning the coveted "Speed Bird Trophy" as the best cadet in flying the Su-7 ground attack supersonic jet aircraft. He earned the rank of Flight Lieutenant (Flt. Lt.) in April 1978. During his service with the Ghanaian Air Force, Rawlings perceived a deterioration of discipline and morale, reflecting the corruption of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) at that time. As promotion brought him into contact with the privileged classes and their social values, his view of the injustices in society hardened. He was thus regarded with some unease by the SMC. After the 1979 coup, he involved himself with the student community of the University of Ghana, where he developed more leftist ideology through reading and discussion of social and political ideas.

1979 Coup overthrowing Akuffo Government
Rawlings grew discontent with Acheampong's government, which had come to power through a successful coup in January 1972. Acheampong was not only accused of corruption, but also of maintaining Ghana's dependency on pre-colonial powers that led to economic decline and impoverishment.

Rawlings was part of the Free Africa Movement, an underground movement of military officers who wanted to unify Africa through a series of coups. On May 15, 1979, five weeks prior to civilian elections, Rawlings and six other soldiers staged a coup against the government of General Fred Akuffo, but failed and was arrested by the Ghanaian Military. He was publicly sentenced to death in a General Court Martial and imprisoned, although his statements on the social injustices that motivated his actions won him civilian sympathy. While awaiting his execution, Rawlings was sprung from custody on 4 June 1979 by a group of soldiers. Claiming that the government was corrupt beyond redemption and that new leadership was required for Ghana's development, he led the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), composed primarily of junior officers, to oust the Supreme Military Council. On the night of 4 June, lives were lost in both the forces fighting against the military government and those fighting on the side of the insurgency. (HOW MANY LIVES LOST ON EACH SIDE?). Shortly after the coup, Rawlings established and became the Chairman of a 15-member Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), which implemented parliamentary and presidential elections and attempted to clear corruption. The AFRC would later become the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC). Rawlings executed by firing squad 8 military officers, including Generals Kotei, Joy Amedume, Roger Felli, and Utuka, as well as the 3 former heads of state, Afrifa, Acheampong, and Akuffo. The killings of the Supreme Court justices (Cecilia Koranteng Addo, Frederick Sarkodie, and Kwadjo Agyei Agyepong), military officers Major Sam Acquah and Major Dasana Nantogmah also occurred during this time.The executions were dramatic events in Ghana history, which had suffered from few instances of political violence. Rawlings later implemented a much wider "house-cleaning exercise" involving the killings and abduction of over 300 Ghanians. (NEED MORE INFO ON PURGES) Elections were held on time shortly after the coup, without AFRC intervention in civilian rule. Power was peacefully handed to President Hilla Limann on 24 September 1979, whose People's National Party (PNP) had the support of Nkrumah's followers.

1982 Coup overthrowing Limann and "The Rawlings Revolution"1981-1993
Rawlings believed the Limann regime to be unable to resolve Ghana's neocolonial economic dependency and led a second coup against Limann and indicted the entire political class on December 31, 1981. In place of Limann's People's National Party, Rawlings established his Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) military junta. The PNDC claimed to be true representatives of the people, but was lacking experience in creating and implementing economic policies. The People's Defense Committees (PDCs) were also implemented in the workplace, district, and village as a precursor to decentralization of politics. Rawlings, like many of his predecessors, attributed current economic and social problems to the "trade malpractices and other anti-social activities" of a few businesspeople. In December 1982, the PNDC announced its four-year economic program of establishing a state monopoly on export-import trade with the goal of eliminating corruption surrounding import licenses and shift trade away from dependency on Western markets. Unrealistic price controls were imposed on the market and enforced through coercive methods best symbolized by the destruction of the Makola No.1 Market. The PNDC established Workers' Defense Committees (WDCs) and People's Defense Committees (PDCs) to mobilize the population to support radical changes to the economy. Price controls on the sale of food was beneficial to urban workers, but placed undue burden on 70% of the rural population that depended on the food market for income. Rawlings' economic policies led to an economic crisis in 1983, forcing him to undertake structural adjustment and submit himself to election to retain power. Elections were held in January 1991, leading Ghana back to multiparty democracy.

The first year of PNDC rule was replete with violent acts against those who even appeared to be in opposition to the regime, notably the kidnapping and brutal murder of three high court judges on June 30, 1982.

1992 Elections
In preparation for constitutional rule, the National Commission on Democracy (NDC) was established to survey civilian opinion and make recommendations to facilitate the process of democratic transition. The PNDC used NDC recommendations to establish a committee for the drafting of a new constitution based on past Ghanaian Constitutions, that lifted the ban on political parties in May 1992.

On November 3, 1992, election results complied by the INEC from 200 constituencies showed that Rawlings' NDC had won 60% of the votes, and had obtained the majority needed to prevent a second round of voting. More specifically, the NDC won 62% in the Brong-Ahajo region, 93% in the Volta region, and majority votes in Upper West, Upper East, Western, Northern, Central, and Greater Accra regions. His opponents Professor Abu Boahen won 31% of the votes, former President Hila Limann won 6.8%, Kwabena Darko won 2.9%, and Emmanuel Erskine won 1.7%. Voter turnout was 50%. Rawlings' victory was aided by the various party structures that were integrated into society during his rule, called the "organs of the revolution". These structures included the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs), Commando Units, the 31st December Women's Organization, the June 4 movement, Peoples Militias, and Mobisquads, and operated on a system of popular control through intimidation. The ability of opposition parties to compete was limited by the vast advantages Rawlings possessed. He had a monopoly over national media, and was able to censor print and electronic media through a PNDC newspaper licensing decree, PNDC Law 221. Moreover, Rawlings imposed a 200,00 cedis (about $400) cap on campaign contributions which made national publicity of opposition parties virtually impossible. Rawlings himself began campaigning before the official unbanning of political parties and had access to state resources and was able to effectively meet all monetary demands required of a successful campaign. Rawlings traveled across the country, initiating public-works projects and giving public employees a 60% raise prior to election day. Opposition parties objected the election results, citing incidences of votes stuffing in regions Rawlings was likely to lose and rural areas with scant populations, as well as a bloated voters' register and a partisan electoral commission. However, the Commonwealth Observer Group, led by Sir Ellis Clarke, approved of the election as "free and fair", as there very few issues at polling stations and no major incidences of voter coercion. In contrast, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) issued a report supporting claims that erroneous entries in voter registration could have affected election results. The Carter Center did acknowledge minor electoral issues but did not see these problems as indictive of systematic electoral fraud. Opposition parties boycotted the unicameral National Assembly, resulting in a one-party parliament that lacked legitimacy and only had limited legislative powers. After the disputed election, the PNDC was transformed into the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He gained more than half the votes in every region except Ashanti in south-central Ghana, and carried his home region by an almost incredible 93 percent. He ran particularly well in rural districts. Boahen, who is from Ashanti, won his home region and generally got more of his votes from the cities.

Policies and Reforms
Rawlings established the Economic Recovery Program (ERP) suggested by the World Bank and IMF in 1982 due to the poor state of the economy after 18months of attempting to govern it though administrative controls and mass mobilization. The policies implemented caused a dramatic currency devaluation, the removal of price controls and social-service subsidies which favored farmers over urban workers, and privatization of some state-owned enterprises, and restraints on government spending. Funding was generously provided by bilateral donors, reaching $800 million in 1987 and 1988, and $900 million in 1989.

Between 1992 and 1996, Rawlings eased control over the judiciary and civil society, allowing a more independent Supreme Court and the publication of independent newspapers. Opposition parties operated outside of parliament and held rallies and press conferences.

Between 1992 and 1996, the Supreme Court demonstrated increasing independence from the ruling party. Independent newspapers began publication. Opposition parties continued to operate outside of parliament, holding rallies and press conferences. By 1996, the Ghanaian economy was beginning to weaken as inflation quickened while job creation and poverty alleviation lagged. Still, cocoa prices remained good, the mining sector was booming, and the timber industry was developing. In contrast to the mid-1980s, when weak organization prevented effective opposition to structural adjustment, mass demonstrations in 1995 forced Rawlings to withdraw a proposed value-added tax. In 1996, a number of important changes had been made in the electoral process, demonstrating that the Electoral Commission and the parties had learned important lessons from 1992. Mutual distrust among political parties had been eased in part through the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), an innovative mechanism that brought the parties together to discuss election preparations with the Electoral Commission.

"Rawlings Revolution": This slogan became an axiom of the fourth republic: state command of development, people's justice, and economic redistribution. But local condi tions caused the NDC to significantly adapt its Nkrumahist-styled vision.

* need more info on boycotting of the unicameral National Assembly

1996 Elections
Given the various issues with the 1992 elections, the 1996 elections were a great improvement in terms of electoral oversight. The voter registration was re-complied, with close to 9.2 million voters registering at nearly 19,000 polling stations, which the opposition had largely approved of after party agents had reviewed the lists. The emphasis on transparency led Ghanaian nongovernmental organizations to create the Network of Domestic Election Observers (NEDEO), which trained nearly 4,100 local poll-watchers. This organization was popular across political parties and civic groups. On the day of the election, over 60,000 candidate agents monitored close to all polling sites, and were responsible for directly reporting results to their respective party leader. The parallel vote-tabulation system allowed polling sites to compare their results to the official ones released by the Electoral commission. The Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) was established to discuss election preparations with all parties and the Electoral Commission, as well as establish procedures to investigate and resolve complaints. residential and parliamentary elections were held on the same day and see-through boxes were used in order to further ensure the legitimacy of the elections. Despite some fears of electoral violence, the election was peaceful and had a 78% turnout rate, and was successful with only minor problems such as an inadequate supply of ink and parliamentary ballots.

The two major contenders of the 1996 election was Rawlings' NDC and his Kufuor's Great Alliance, which was an amalgamation of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the People's Convention Party (PCP). The Great Alliance based their platform on ousting Rawlings and attacked the incumbent government for its poor fiscal policies. However, they were unable to articulate a clear positive message of its own or plans to change the current economic policy. As Ghana was heavily dependent on international aid, local leaders had minimal impact on the economy. The Electoral Commission reported Rawlings had won by 57%, with Kufuor obtaining 40% of the vote. Results by district were similar to those in 1992, with the opposition winning the Ashanti Region and some constituencies in Eastern and Greater Accra, and Rawlings winning in his ethnic home, the Volta, and fairing well in every other region. The NDC took 133 seats in the Assembly to the opposition's 66, and the NPP took 60 seats in the parliament.

the dominant figure in Ghanaian politics for nearly 20 years, was required to step down after two terms as president by the 1992 Constitution, the cornerstone of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.

Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections of December 2000 marked the end of an era. Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, the dominant figure in Ghanaian politics for nearly 20 years, was required to step down after two terms as president by the 1992 Constitution, the cornerstone of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.