President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to hold a national referendum on proposed constitutional amendments.
According to President Mahama, the planned national referendum on proposed constitutional amendments will be held alongside the 2027 District Assembly Elections.
Speaking on his Resetting Ghana Tour Citizens’ Engagement in Bolgatanga as part of his two-day tour of the Upper East Region, Mahama stated, “We therefore want to add the referendum to the District Assembly elections next year. Next year, apart from voting for your Assembly Members, you will also be required to vote on the constitutional amendments”.
“If the referendum is successful, we will implement the amendments to the entrenched clauses. That is what we are doing with regard to governance.”
He further revealed that he will soon inaugurate the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee to take the Government’s position paper and the Constitutional Review Commission’s reports and synthesise the two.
“For non-entrenched clauses, we only need Parliamentary approval. We will put them before Parliament, and Members will vote and pass them,” he said.
“Entrenched clauses require that we conduct a referendum. At least 40 percent of registered voters must vote, and 75 per cent of those who vote must say yes.”
It will be recalled that President John Dramani Mahama labelled the proposal by the Constitution Review Committee as revolutionary and radical.
According to President Mahama, some of the recommendations are revolutionary and radical, but in the interest of Ghana’s democracy.
President Mahama stressed that the recommendations are necessary to strengthen governance and restore public confidence in democratic institutions, noting that several countries in the subregion are experiencing coups.
Also, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has announced that the Mahama government has accepted a key recommendation of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to extend the tenure of the President and Parliament from four years to five years.
Presenting the government’s White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee’s recommendations, Dr Ayine stated, “The government has accepted a recommendation to extend the term of office of the president from four years to five years, with the term of Parliament extended to correspond with this”.
“Our thinking is practical. Under the current four-year cycle, the early months of every administration are consumed by transition matters, and the final year is largely consumed by elections.”
“A five-year term provides a more realistic time frame for the formulation, implementation and assessment of government policy.”
Although the Constitutional Review Committee proposed reducing the eligibility age from the current 40 years to 30 years, the Mahama administration has opted for a minimum age of 35 years.
“Still under the presidency, the committee recommended that the minimum age of eligibility for election as president be reduced from 40 years, currently in the Constitution, to 30 years. The government has accepted this recommendation in principle, subject to one modification,” he said.
“The minimum age will be 35 years, not 30 years. And of course, the details of this will be fashioned out by the Constitutional Review.”
Additionally, Dr Dominic Ayine, presenting the White Paper announced that government has accepted the proposal by the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to allow Ghanaians with dual citizenship to hold public office, with the exception of the offices of President and Vice President.
In the decision contained in the government’s White Paper on the CRC’s recommendations, the government recommended the removal of the current constitutional requirement that Ghanaian citizens by birth renounce their foreign citizenship before contesting parliamentary elections.
Under the recommendation, a Ghanaian citizen by birth who also holds the citizenship of another country will no longer be disqualified from contesting for Parliament solely because of their dual citizenship status and will also not be required to renounce their other nationality before seeking election.
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