President John Dramani Mahama has announced that proposed amendments to Ghana’s entrenched constitutional provisions will be put to a referendum alongside next year’s District Assembly elections, as part of the government’s broader constitutional reform agenda. He explained that the government is preparing to translate recommendations from the Constitution Review Commission (CRC), together with its own position paper, into concrete legislative proposals.
These amendments will be categorised into entrenched and non‑entrenched provisions. “With regard to governance, the Attorney General has already briefed you on the constitutional review. I will inaugurate the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee, whose mandate is to synthesise the government’s position paper with the CRC report.
Their task will be to divide the proposals into two segments: non‑entrenched clauses, which require only parliamentary approval, and entrenched clauses, which must be subjected to a national referendum,” the President stated. 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 ongoing constitutional reform process, emphasising that the government would follow the proper constitutional procedures for amending the country’s supreme law. He indicated that the constitutional review is part of the government’s broader governance agenda, which also includes measures to enhance security, strengthen institutions, and create conditions for national development.
He praised the security agencies for their improvements in the Upper East Region, particularly in reducing incidents of motorbike theft and armed robbery.
Source: Gilbert Azeem Tiroog
