President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to put proposed amendments to Ghana's entrenched constitutional provisions to a referendum alongside next year's District Assembly elections, as part of efforts to advance government's constitutional reform agenda.
He said government is preparing to translate recommendations from the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) and government's position paper into concrete legislative proposals, with the proposed amendments to be categorised into entrenched and non entrenched provisions.
"With regard to governance, the AG has already told you about the constitutional review. I'll inaugurate the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee. And their work is to take the government position paper and the CRC reports and synthesise the two. And then they will divide it into two segments: non entrenched clauses and entrenched clauses. Non entrenched clauses, we just need parliamentary approval. 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 said.
Mahama made the remarks during a citizen engagement in Bolgatanga last Friday, as part of his tour of the Upper East Region under government's Resetting Ghana agenda.
He explained that the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee, which he said he would inaugurate shortly, would be responsible for reconciling government's position on constitutional reforms with the recommendations in the CRC report.
He said constitutional provisions classified as entrenched would require a referendum in which at least 40 per cent of registered voters must take part before the amendments could be approved, and that of those who vote, at least 75 per cent would need to vote in favour for the amendments to take effect.
Mahama said government intends to combine the referendum with next year's District Assembly elections, meaning voters would face an additional constitutional question when they go to the polls.
He urged Ghanaians to support the process, stressing that government would proceed with the reforms through the constitutional procedures governing amendments to the country's supreme law. He said the constitutional review forms part of government's broader governance agenda, alongside measures aimed at improving security, strengthening institutions and creating the conditions for national development.
He commended the security agencies for what he described as improvements in security in the Upper East Region, particularly the reduction in incidents of motorbike snatching and armed robbery.
