ic, using PNDC proposals. The PNDC accepted the final product without revision, and it was put to a national referendum on April 28, 1992, in which it received 92% approval. On May 18, 1992, the ban on party politics was lifted in preparation for multi-party elections. The PNDC and its supporters formed a new party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to contest the elections. Presidential elections were held on November 3 and parliamentary elections on December 29 of that year. Members of the opposition boycotted the parliamentary elections, however, which resulted in a 200 seat Parliament with only 17 opposition party members and two independents.
The Constitution entered into force on January 7, 1993, to found the Fourth Republic. On that day, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings was inaugurated as President and members of Parliament swore their oaths of office. In 1996, the opposition fully contested the presidential and parliamentary elections, which were described as peaceful, free, and transparent by domestic and international observers. In that election, President Rawlings was re-elected with 57% of the popular vote. In addition, Rawlings' NDC party won 133 of the Parliament's 200 seats, just one seat short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution, although the election returns of two parliamentary seats face legal challenges.
The December 2000 elections ushered in the first democratic Presidential change of power in Ghana's history when John A. Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) defeated the NDC's John Atta Mills--who was Rawling's vice-president and hand-picked successor. Kufuor defeated Mills by winning 56.73% of the vote, while the NPP picked up 100 of 200 seats in Parliament. The elections were declared free and fair by a large contingent of domestic and international monitors. After several by-elections were held to fill vacated seats, the NPP majority stands at 102 of the 200 seats in Parliament, while the NDC holds 90 and independent and small party members hold eight.
The government of John A. Kufuor appears to enjoy broad support among the Ghanaian population as it pursues a domestic political agenda based upon public commitment to the rule of Law, basic human rights, and anti-corruption initiatives. So far, the government has taken steps to strengthen freedoms of expression by repealing colonial-era criminal libel laws, dropping a number of libel suits against journalists, abolishing sometimes abusive community tribunals, and introducing legislation to establish a juvenile justice system. As part of its anti-corruption efforts the Kufuor government has pursued some high-profile cases (most still ongoing), including the prosecution of its Minister of Youth and Sports and several former high-level government officials. On September 3, 2002, Ghana inaugurated its National Reconciliation Commission, a South Africa-style commission established to investigate human rights abuses under Ghana's former military regimes.