Ghana government called upon to be transparent and urgently start constitutional review process
The Ghana government is being called upon to act with urgency and transparency to amend the country’s Constitution after 34 years of constitutional governance. The constitution has been reviewed twice already but not implemented yet.
In 2010, the Fiadjoe Commission, was established to review the 1992 Constitution. The commission held widespread consultations to gather public opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution. The government of the day issued a White Paper and that was it.
At a press conference today March 16, 2026 the Citizen platform, collaborative initiative of activists, civil society organisations and citizens has cautioned the government against the use of another ‘position paper’ to drive the next phase of the implementation.
“The current constitutional review process must be guided by lessons from past attempts. The issuance of a White Paper following the report of the Fiadjoe Commission derailed the process and extinguished enthusiasm for the process. Nonetheless, any formal views of government must be subjected to the same test that should guide public engagement of the CRC proposals,” Prof Akosua Darkwah, Chair of the steering committee said.
Calling for transparency the group urged the government to accelerate the process.
The full report of the review committee was submitted to President John Mahama on January 26, 2026, and while both President Mahama and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have called for review of the constitution, the full report of the review committee has not yet been made public.
The Platform noted that while the President intends to establish a review implementation committee, and he mentioned it during the State of the Nation Address, it pointed out that the “mention of review was vague.”
Arguing that the report is critical, the Citizens Platform indicated that the release of a position paper should not delay the publication of the report.
“Current review must be guided by previous review and issue of white paper. Clear timelines and transparency, as the Constitution imposes three to six months timeline. With elections coming there is little time,” the group said, urging the government to seize the opportunity and publish the committee’s report now so citizens can participate in the review process.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi.
See full statement below.