Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 105 CHAPTER SIX: CHAMPIONING REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN WEST AFRICA: THE ROLE OF GHANA'S POLITICAL PARTIES Emmanuel Debrah* ABSTRACT This paper identifies and examines the critical role political parties in Ghana have played towards the West African integration agenda. Issues of West African integration have occupied a central space in the political parties' programmes. Immediate post-independent political parties, particularly, the Convention People's Party(CPP) showed leadership in the process toward regional and sub-regional bloc building. The CPP's political agenda incorporated efforts towards the integration of the African continent. The formation of the defunct Organisation of African Union (OAU) in the 1960s owed much to the role played by the CPP and its leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Although the formation of the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) occurred during the era of military regimes, post-1992 political parties have made regional integration pivotal not only on their campaign platforms but have taken concrete steps to pursue programmes with far reaching consequences for the ECOWAS. With the support of the minority parties in Parliament, the National Democratic Congress(NDC) and New Patriotic Party(NPP) governments have worked assiduously to move forward the agenda set in the framework of the ECOWAS. Even though many challenges confront the political parties in their quest to advance the course of the West African integration, there is much optimism for success once intra-party democracy improves and regional party alliances and programmes are formalised and harmonised. *Dr. Emmanuel Debrah is a Lecturer at the Political Science Department, University of Ghana, Legon.