4 Parties kick against overhaul of Constitution

Four political parties have kicked against the complete overhaul of the 1992 Constitution which has served the country for over three decades.

While the Convention People’s Party (CPP) is of the view that the Constitution has outlived its purpose and needs to be reviewed extensively, the two main political parties — the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), as well as the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC) — are of the view that the Constitution had served the Fourth Republic well with successful transfers of power and must be maintained, with only a few amendments.

The parties shared their views at the latest Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) seminar on constitutional review in Accra last Wednesday.

Seminar

The seminar was part of the IEA’s project on reviewing Ghana’s 1992 Constitution to promote good governance and sustainable development in the country.

It was chaired by a former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo.

NPP

A former National Chairman of the NPP, Peter Mac Manu, explained that the amendment should be centred on specific provisions.

For instance, he said, after 30 years of governance under the democratic regime, the Constitution must be amended to allow for the full participation of political parties in the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs).

He said since the Constitution engendered democracy and political tolerance, it was apt for persons to use political parties’ platforms to campaign for elections and be sponsored in local-level elections.