The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected the government’s approach to implementing proposed changes to Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, arguing that the scale of the recommendations amounts to a fundamental overhaul of the country’s constitutional framework.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, September 17, NPP Policy Committee Chairman and Ofoase/Ayirebi MP, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, called for a broad-based deliberative process involving political parties, organised labour, professional bodies and other key stakeholders before any amendments are pursued.
“The New Patriotic Party therefore rejects this approach being pursued by the NDC government in essentially rewriting the 1992 Constitution,” he said.
According to Mr Oppong Nkrumah, the Constitution Review Committee has recommended changes to 147 of the Constitution’s 299 articles, representing about 49 percent of the existing document, alongside 59 new provisions.
He argued that the scale of the proposals goes beyond what would ordinarily be considered constitutional amendments, given that they affect areas including the Executive, Parliament, independent constitutional bodies and local government.
“Amendment 147 of 299 articles, together with 59 new provisions, that is 206 reaching into the executive, the legislature, independent constitutional bodies, and local government is not just an adjustment to some provisions of the constitution, they amount to the overhaul of the constitution and in substance the enactment of a new one,” he said.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah also raised concerns about what he described as differences between the government and the Constitution Review Committee over the recommendations.
He claimed that the government had substituted its own position for about 100 of the 147 recommendations made by the committee, which was established by President John Dramani Mahama.
He further alleged that the consultation process had been declared closed, with the implementation committee instructed to proceed with drafting proposals and November 2026 set as the deadline for the first amendment.
The former Information Minister said the NPP was concerned that there was currently no formal platform for political parties, organised labour, professional bodies and other identifiable groups to deliberate on the areas of disagreement.
He cited Ghana’s constitutional processes in 1969, 1979 and 1992 as examples of exercises in which expert recommendations were subjected to broader deliberation before being given legal force.
“First, the work of an expert deliberated and settled upon by a broad and representative assembly and only then given the force of law. This was done in 1969, in 1979, and in 1992 and that is what we are calling on the government to respect now,” he said.
The NPP is therefore calling on the government to introduce a Constituent or Consultative Assembly Bill in Parliament to establish a formal deliberative body for the constitutional reform process.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said such a mechanism would provide an avenue for stakeholders to examine the proposals and help resolve the disagreements between the government and the Constitution Review Committee before the amendments are taken forward.
