The Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman Thomas Ampem Nyarko says Parliament must make conscious effort to champion review of the 1992 constitution after 30 years of promulgation.
He said , amending the constitution of Ghana has been long overdue.
“I believe that we have been talking about amending our constitution it is long overdue.We need to use this celebration to look at the pathway for us to amend aspects of the constitution that we’ve all come to realize is not good ,and so, that is what I believe we need to consider now and as a matter of urgency we must have a pathway to the amendment of those aspects of the constitution that we’ve all come to agree that need to be amended”
Hon. Thomas Ampem Nyarko, stressed that, the constitution must be amended to reduce excessive powers entrusted in the hands of the President to avoid abuse.
“We must work hard to reduce the powers that is vested in one person (the President so that we strengthen institutions and allow institutions to work in this country , I believe if we are able to do these things going forward we will all sleep not thinking of any threat to our democracy”.
7th January 2023, marked thirty (30) years of the inception of the Fourth Republican Parliament of Ghana, after years of military interventions, and the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution approved by the Ghanaian citizenry in a referendum.
Two major political parties in Ghana -the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have changed power after two terms of eight years cycles in 2000, 2008, 2016.
The next crucial presidential and parliamentary elections will be held December 7,2024 with thee ruling party poised for victory to break the eight year change convention.
Speaking to the media at the sidelines of Peace Walk and sports activities organized by Parliament of Ghana on Saturday August 12,2023 in Koforidua,Eastern Regional capital to celebrate 30 years of uninterrupted constitutional rule,Hon.Thomas Ampem Nyarko said the milestone is worth celebrating, however, cautioned that the country should not be complacent and ignore threats to the constitution.
He said President Akufo Addo’s decision to pack the Electoral Commission with NPP party affiliates and known card bearing members for instance, is a threat to credibility of election which is the heartbeat of democracy.
He said for instance,recent development regarding the political composition of Electoral Commission by the ruling NPP government and previous actions of the commissioner Jean Mensah must be a source of worry to believers of democracy and good governance.
“The role of the electoral commission is critical and we have come this far because of the kind of leadership of the electoral commission that we had .Dr. Afari Gyan was committed to a peaceful and fair election , unfortunately we cannot say same about the current Chairperson of the electoral commission and so she must learn from her predecessors and find out what Dr. Afari Gyan was able to do that earn him that trust from all actors in our elections , now the ball is in her court and she must do everything to sustain this constitutional rule that we have”
The peace walk and sporting activities such as soccer ,tennis, and tag of peace were participated by the Second Deputy Speaker, Hon.Andrew Asiamah Amoako, Some Members of Parliament, Omanhene of New Juaben. Traditional Area , Daasebre Kwaku Boateng III, Eastern Regional Minister Seth Kwame Acheampong,various security agencies and the citizenry.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
