President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to put proposed amendments to Ghana’s entrenched constitutional provisions to a referendum alongside next year’s District Assembly elections, as part of efforts to advance the government’s constitutional reform agenda.
He said the government was preparing to translate recommendations from the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) and the government’s position paper into concrete legislative proposals, with the proposed amendments to be categorised into entrenched and non-entrenched provisions.
“With regard to governance, the AG has already told you about the constitutional review. I'll inaugurate the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee.
And their work is to take the government position paper and the CRC reports and synthesise the two.
“And then they will divide it into two segments: non-entrenched clauses and entrenched clauses. Non-entrenched clauses, we just need parliamentary approval.
So those will be put before Parliament, and we will vote and pass them. Entrenched clauses require that we conduct a referendum, and that will go alongside the 2027 Assembly elections,” he stated.
The President made this known during a citizen engagement in Bolgatanga last Friday as part of his tour of the Upper East Region under the government’s Resetting Ghana Agenda.
Referendum
President Mahama explained that the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee, which he said he would inaugurate shortly, would be responsible for reconciling the government’s position on constitutional reforms with the recommendations contained in the CRC report.
The President said the constitutional provisions classified as entrenched would require a referendum in which at least 40 per cent of registered voters would have to participate before the amendments could be approved.
He added that of those who voted, at least 75 per cent would have to vote in favour of the proposed amendments for them to take effect.
President Mahama said the government intended to combine the referendum with next year’s District Assembly elections, meaning voters would have an additional constitutional question to decide when they went to the polls.
Constitutional reforms
President Mahama urged Ghanaians to support the process, stressing that the government would proceed with the reforms through the constitutional procedures governing amendments to the country’s supreme law.
He said the constitutional review formed part of the government’s broader governance agenda, alongside measures aimed at improving security, strengthening institutions and creating conditions for national development.
He commended the security agencies for what he described as improvements in security in the Upper East Region, particularly the reduction in incidents of motorbike snatching and armed robbery.
