The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the government’s proposed approach to amending the 1992 Constitution, arguing that the scope of the proposed changes amounts to a fundamental restructuring of Ghana’s constitutional framework.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, September 17, NPP Policy Committee Chairman and Ofoase/Ayirebi MP, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the government should not proceed with the proposed amendments without first undertaking a broad-based consultative and deliberative process involving key stakeholders.
“The New Patriotic Party therefore rejects this approach being pursued by the NDC government in essentially rewriting the 1992 Constitution,” he said.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the Constitution Review Committee had proposed amendments to 147 of the Constitution’s 299 articles, representing approximately 49 percent of the existing document, alongside 59 new provisions.
He argued that the extent of the proposed changes goes beyond what would ordinarily be considered constitutional amendments.
“Amending 147 of 299 articles, together with 59 new provisions, reaching into the executive, the legislature, independent constitutional bodies and local government, is not simply an adjustment to selected provisions of the Constitution. They amount to an 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 significant disagreements between the government and the Constitution Review Committee over the recommendations. He claimed that the government has substituted its own position for about 100 of the 147 recommendations made by the independent committee established by the President.
According to Mr Oppong Nkrumah, the government has also brought the consultation process to an end and directed its implementation committee to proceed with drafting proposals without further negotiations, with November 2026 set as the target for the first amendment.
He said the NPP was concerned that there is currently no formal platform for political parties, Organised Labour, professional associations and other identifiable groups to deliberate on the outstanding issues and areas of disagreement.
The former Information Minister noted that Ghana’s previous constitutional processes in 1969, 1979 and 1992 followed a similar pattern, with experts first developing proposals before they were subjected to deliberation by broad and representative assemblies and subsequently given legal effect. “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 body to deliberate on the proposed constitutional changes. Mr Oppong Nkrumah said such a mechanism would also create an avenue to address the more than 100 areas of disagreement between the government and the Constitution Review Committee.
