Recent reforms to primary election rules by one of Ghana’s major parties offers a rare opportunity to assess the effects of expansions of the franchise on representation in contemporary new democracies. These changes, in turn, affect the types of politicians who seek and win legislative nominations.
Nahomi Ichino is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan, where she is also a faculty associate of the Center for Political Studies and the African Studies Center. Ichino’s research focuses on ethnic politics, voter behavior, and political parties in developing democracies with a specialization in sub-Saharan Africa. Her secondary research interest is methodology for comparative politics.