'It is akin to a new constitution' – NPP kicks against current review process

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has kicked against the current approach to reviewing Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, calling for the establishment of a Consultative Assembly to deliberate on the proposed changes.

Addressing the press on September 17, 2026, the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the scale of the proposed reforms goes beyond what should be treated as routine amendments under Chapter 25 of the Constitution.

According to him, the Constitutional Review Committee has completed the expert stage of the review and proposed changes to about 49% of the existing Constitution, alongside 59 new provisions.

Oppong Nkrumah criticised what he described as the government’s plan to move from the drafting stage directly to Parliament or a referendum without further broad-based deliberation.

“The committee has completed the expert stage. They have proposed to change about 49% of the current Constitution and to add 59 new provisions. For all intents and purposes, that is not a simple amendment.

“It is akin to the enactment of what will be a new Constitution. What is missing now is the putting up of a proper deliberative body to examine all these and even consider what all other stakeholders, including the NDC, have to say.

Read the full report of the Constitutional Review Committee

“The government is now proposing to skip any further deliberation and move from drafting straight to Parliament or to a referendum,” he noted.

The former Minister of Information urged the government to introduce a Constituent or Consultative Assembly Bill in Parliament and establish the assembly through legislation.

He said the body should bring together various segments of society that have historically contributed to major constitutional processes and should have a role in determining the final proposals.

“The NPP therefore calls on the NDC government to bring a Constituent or Consultative Assembly Bill to Parliament and to establish a proper deliberative assembly under it, bringing together the segments of society who have always contributed to and must contribute to the final positions whenever an exercise of this magnitude is being undertaken.

“The political parties, organised labour, professional bodies, the House of Chiefs, religious bodies, women’s groups, persons with disabilities, students and youth, the private sector, civil society and the regions. In our view, a Constituent Assembly established by law is the single mechanism that answers all the demands being made by the various groups,” Oppong Nkrumah said.

He argued that such an assembly would provide a platform for building broad agreement across political parties and organised groups, including the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

He added that it would also provide a legally binding pathway and timelines for the constitutional review process while creating a platform for consensus-building on the issues under consideration.

Oppong Nkrumah said there were currently more than 100 issues on which the government and the Constitutional Review Committee had differing positions, making broader deliberation necessary before any final decision was taken.

The Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) has proposed changes to the country’s governance architecture, including extending the presidential and parliamentary tenure from four to five years and ending the hybrid system that allows ministers to double as Members of Parliament.

JKB/MA

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