NPP leadership is considering the party’s position on Ghana’s proposed constitutional amendments.
The leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is expected to consider the party’s position on Ghana’s proposed constitutional amendments as discussions over reforms to the 1992 Constitution enter an important stage.
The development comes after the NPP’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Policy Committee completed its review of the Constitution Review Committee’s report and the government’s response to the recommendations.
The party has prepared a position paper outlining its views on the proposed constitutional changes. The document has been submitted through the party’s internal structures for consideration and adoption before the NPP communicates its official position to the public.
The issue has attracted considerable national attention because several of the recommendations could affect Ghana’s political and governance system if they eventually receive the necessary approval.
NPP Completes Review of Constitutional Proposals
The NPP has said it participated in the national constitutional review process and made submissions to the Constitution Review Committee (CRC).
The CRC subsequently presented its report to the government, which issued its own Position Paper on July 30, 2026, setting out its responses to the committee’s recommendations.
Rather than immediately endorsing the government’s position, the NPP’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Policy Committee conducted a separate assessment of both documents.
The committee’s work has now resulted in an NPP position paper. According to the party, the document is intended to provide a clear response to the proposed constitutional changes and reflect the party’s own assessment of the recommendations.
The paper was expected to go through the party’s leadership structures, including presidential candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the National Executive Committee, before the NPP makes its final position public.
Proposed Reforms Cover Major Areas of Governance
The constitutional review involves a broad range of proposals affecting elections, Parliament, the presidency, local government and other areas of Ghana’s democratic system.
Among the proposals accepted by the government is a five-year term for the President and Parliament. The government has also supported the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, commonly referred to as MMDCEs.
Another proposal concerns the size of Parliament, with the government supporting a ceiling of 300 members.
The minimum age for presidential candidates has also been proposed to fall from 40 to 35 years.
Other proposals supported by government include allowing Ghanaians by birth who hold dual citizenship to contest parliamentary elections and abolishing the death penalty.
The government has also backed a proposal to give members of political parties in good standing equal voting rights in the selection of parliamentary and presidential candidates.
These proposals are expected to receive close attention from the NPP as the party determines which changes it supports, opposes or believes should be modified.
Local Government Reform Could Become a Major Issue
One area likely to attract particular attention is the proposed reform of local government elections and the selection of local government executives.
Discussions around the election of MMDCEs have already generated different views among political actors and constitutional experts.
A member of Parliament’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has indicated that the NPP is unlikely to support proposals that place restrictions on who can contest certain local elections. He has also argued that the party needs to clearly establish its own position because the final government proposals may not necessarily reflect the views the NPP submitted during the original consultation process.
The issue is significant because local government reform has long been linked to efforts to strengthen participation and accountability at the grassroots level.
The NPP’s eventual position could therefore contribute significantly to the national debate over how local government should operate under a revised constitutional framework.
Why the NPP Position Matters
As one of Ghana’s two major political parties, the NPP’s position is likely to have considerable influence on the wider discussion.
The party has stated that its approach will be guided by the need for an inclusive and transparent constitutional review process that protects Ghana’s democratic gains, strengthens constitutional institutions and promotes political stability and national development.
Its decision to review both the CRC report and the government’s Position Paper also means that the party is positioning itself to assess the reforms independently rather than simply responding to individual proposals in isolation.
The final document could therefore provide a broader picture of the NPP’s thinking on the future direction of Ghana’s constitutional arrangements.
Constitutional Review Moves Into Implementation Stage
The NPP’s internal deliberations are taking place as government moves ahead with structures intended to advance the constitutional review process.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine has inaugurated an 11-member Constitution Review Implementation Committee.
The committee, chaired by Presidential Legal Counsel and former Attorney-General Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, is expected to work on the next stages of the reform process by examining the relevant proposals and helping develop a framework for implementation.
President John Dramani Mahama has also indicated that some of the proposed amendments may require a national referendum, depending on the provisions involved.
Under Ghana’s constitutional framework, amendments to entrenched provisions require a referendum, while other provisions can follow a parliamentary process.
This makes the current political discussions particularly important because the eventual process will depend not only on agreement among political parties but also on the constitutional requirements attached to individual provisions.
NPP Expected to Communicate Its Final Position
The NPP has so far been careful not to present the committee’s position paper as the party’s final public position.
The document must pass through the appropriate leadership structures before the party officially communicates its conclusions to Ghanaians.
That process is expected to provide greater clarity on the NPP’s position on the various recommendations and whether the party intends to support them in their current form, propose amendments or reject particular proposals.
For Ghanaians following the constitutional review, the outcome will be important because the debate goes beyond party politics. Changes to the Constitution can influence how political leaders are elected, how institutions function and how citizens participate in governance.
The NPP leadership’s consideration of its position paper therefore represents another significant step in the broader constitutional reform process.
As the government, political parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders continue to examine the proposals, the focus will increasingly shift from the recommendations themselves to the areas where consensus can be achieved.
The NPP’s final position is expected to add another important voice to that national conversation and could help shape the direction of the proposed amendments as Ghana moves towards the next stage of constitutional review.