News · Richard Boateng Opoku-Ofori

CPCR engages CSOs on constitutional review implementation process

The Citizen Platform on Constitutional Reform, CPCR has called for greater citizen participation in Ghana’s constitutional review process to ensure that the outcome reflects the views and aspirations of the people.

The call was made during a stakeholder engagement with Civil Society Organisations, CSOs in Koforidua in the Eastern Region. The programme sought to deepen understanding of the constitutional review process and encourage participants to engage their communities on key reform proposals.

The Constitutional Review Committee was established in January 2026 to review provisions of the 1992 Constitution and recommend reforms. Following the submission of its report, government issued a White Paper in July 2026 outlining its position on the recommendations and later constituted an eleven-member Constitutional Review Implementation Committee in August 2026.

Out of the 147 recommendations submitted by the Committee, government accepted 23, accepted 53 with modifications, considered 17 and rejected 54.

Participants at the engagement called for a Constitutional Reform Implementation and Roadmap Act to provide a legal framework for implementing the recommendations.

They also stressed the need to clearly define the mandate of the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee, ensure fairness in any future referendum and secure ring-fenced funding for civic education activities to support public participation.

Speaking at the event, the Director for Programs and Operations at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, CDD-Ghana, Frederick Adu Gyamfi, said the constitutional review process should not be left solely to policymakers and experts.

“We cannot leave this process only to the policymakers and the experts. It has to be a national conversation, and for it to be a national conversation, it must be citizen-led,” he said.

Mr. Adu Gyamfi noted that citizens must understand the issues involved in the review process so they can make informed decisions when called upon to participate in any future referendum.

He added that the engagement was intended to equip participants with knowledge they could share within their communities to broaden public involvement in the process.

The CPCR Coordinator, Nana Yaw Akuamoah, outlined the Platform’s position on some of the key reform proposals.

“We are saying that the current four-year presidential term and the two-term limit should remain unchanged. We do not support the proposal to extend the presidential term to five years,” he stated.

On the issue of dual citizenship, he said participants expressed differing views on whether Ghanaians with dual citizenship should be allowed to contest parliamentary elections.

The Citizen Platform on Constitutional Reform said it will continue public engagements and civic education activities across the country to ensure citizens contribute meaningfully to the constitutional review process and its implementation.