The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected the government’s approach to changing Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The party says the proposed changes are too broad and could lead to major changes to the country’s current constitutional system.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, September 17, NPP Policy Committee Chairman and Ofoase/Ayirebi MP, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the government should first allow political parties, professional groups, organised labour and other important stakeholders to properly discuss the proposed changes.
“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 has proposed changes to 147 out of the 299 articles in the Constitution. He said this represents about 49 percent of the existing Constitution, along with 59 new provisions.
He argued that making changes on this scale goes beyond simply amending a few parts of the Constitution.
“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 some of the recommendations.
He claimed that the government had taken a different position on about 100 of the 147 recommendations made by the committee.
He further said the government had ended the consultation process and directed its implementation committee to begin preparing proposals, with November 2026 set as the deadline for the first amendment.
According to him, the NPP is concerned that there is currently no formal platform where political parties, organised labour, professional organisations and other groups can discuss and resolve the areas where there are disagreements.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah, who is a former Information Minister, said Ghana’s previous constitutional processes in 1969, 1979 and 1992 involved expert work followed by discussions among broad and representative groups before the proposals became law.
“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.
The party says this would create a formal platform where different groups could discuss the proposed constitutional changes.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah also said such a process could help address the more than 100 areas where the NPP says there are disagreements between the government and the Constitution Review Committee.
