Ghana 1992
Ghana’s 1992 constitution was developed as part of the process to transition the country from military to civilian rule. This came about in the face of mounting pressure from Ghana’s banned opposition parties, led by the Movement of Freedom and Justice (MFJ). There also appears to have been a slight neighborhood effect following the transition to civilian rule in Benin and multi-party democratization in Cote D’Ivoire. In July 1990, the ruling military government, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), established the National Commission for Democracy (NCD). The NCD held seminars in ten regional centers in order to gather public opinion on the future democratic constitution. The NCD submitted its report, advocating a multi-party system, in April 1991. Despite initially opposing a return to multi-party democracy, the PNDC accepted the commission’s recommendations.
The PNDC then appointed a nine-member committee of constitutional experts charged with developing proposals for a draft constitution. Before the committee began, the PNDC instructed the committee to include certain essential elements in its final draft, including a semi-presidential system and non-partisan district elections. However, the committee ultimately discarded a semi-presidential system in favor of a strong presidency. The preparation of the initial draft took eight weeks beginning on June 7 and culminating on July 31, 1991. The prepared draft was then deliberated and voted on by a larger Consultative Assembly. The 258-member Consultative Assembly consisted of 22 members appointed by the PNDC, 121 members appointed by 62 corporate groups, and 117 members indirectly elected by District Assemblies. The Consultative Assembly was originally supposed to have had 260 members, but the Bar Association and the National Union of Ghana Students boycotted their two seats, objecting to the assembly’s composition and operation. Assembly delegates deliberated and voted on each provision and could also introduce new provisions. During this time, the assembly accepted submissions from the public and received over 1000. These submissions influenced various aspects of the final draft, including provisions on the judiciary and local governments. Throughout the drafting process the PNDC retained the right to insert and alter the constitution as it saw fit. The PNDC exercised this right when, at the end of the process, they added a blanket indemnity clause for PNDC members. The Consultative Assembly concluded its work on March 30, 1992, three months later than the December 31 deadline set by the PNDC.
After it received the assembly’s final draft, it put the draft to a public referendum on April 28, 1992. Though only a simple majority was needed to approve the constitution, the referendum passed with 92% of voters in approval. Voter turnout for the ad hoc referendum was 43.7%. Members of the Ghanaian diaspora were not allowed to participate in the referendum. Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in November and December 1992. The constitution entered into force on January 7, 1993, ushering in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
Note: Four years after the constitution entered into force, it was amended to strengthen the power of the president.