Civil society organisations (CSOs) are intensifying efforts to ensure that Ghana’s constitutional review process becomes more participatory, with citizens playing a central role in shaping amendments to the country’s governance framework.
At a two-day capacity-building workshop organised by the Steering Committee of the Citizens Platform on Constitutional Reforms, stakeholders called for stronger public involvement in implementing reforms to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
The workshop, convened by STAR-Ghana Foundation, Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and Democracy Hub with support from UK International Development, brought together representatives of civil society groups to strengthen advocacy and collaboration around the constitutional reform process.
Participants were trained to better understand the reform framework, enhance advocacy skills and coordinate efforts to ensure that citizens’ voices influence the outcome of proposed amendments.
Chief Director of Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, urged civil society actors to champion a mechanism that would allow citizens to directly initiate constitutional amendments through a national petition process.
He explained that the proposed system would require signatures from registered voters nationwide, with at least 10 per cent coming from each region before a proposal could be presented to Parliament for consideration.
“We must initiate something that supports citizens by gathering signatures across the country and pushing for change,” he said, describing the mechanism as a new pathway for citizens to influence constitutional amendments.
According to him, calls for constitutional reform have existed for years. Political parties and civil society organisations had already agreed by 2008 that amendments were necessary after more than a decade of democratic governance under the constitution.
This led to the establishment of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) in 2010, which conducted nationwide consultations and produced recommendations aimed at addressing governance challenges. A government White Paper was later issued, but the reform process stalled amid political uncertainties.
Mr Barker-Vormawor said a subsequent review committee produced a 506-page report proposing amendments, although the full document has yet to be publicly released.
He emphasised that sustained collaboration among civil society organisations would be critical to ensure that the recommendations translate into actual constitutional changes.
The Citizens Platform on Constitutional Reforms, launched in 2025, has already brought together about 70 civil society organisations advocating amendments that would strengthen transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in governance.
Mr Barker-Vormawor also stressed the importance of political commitment in advancing the reforms and called for a government position paper on the recommendations made by the committee chaired by Henry Kwesi Prempeh.
He explained that while Parliament has the authority to amend non-entrenched provisions of the constitution, entrenched clauses require approval through a national referendum. Such a referendum must record at least 40 per cent voter turnout and receive 75 per cent approval for any proposed amendment to pass.
However, he warned that historically low voter turnout in referendums could threaten the success of future reforms, making public education and mobilisation essential.
