4th Republic@25: Review 1992 Constitution – Bagbin

Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has called for a total review of the 1992 constitution as the country marks the silver jubilee of the return to multi-party democracy.

Ghana embraced democracy in 1992 after a series of military takeovers with former President Jerry John Rawlings as the first president of the fourth republic.

Since then, four other Presidents’ namely J.A. Kufour, the late Prof Evans Atta Mills, John Mahama and the incumbent President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo have been at the helm of affairs each of them playing their role in consolidating the democratic gains.

But speaking to Class News, Mr Bagbin who is the longest serving legislator said the 1992 constitution which is still in use has outlived its usefulness and should be reviewed.

He said: “I have been vindicated; I’ve told people that this achievement will be celebrated as a day and that is all, so, we have lost this opportunity to rethink what we are doing and to sanitise the system. There’s a lot to be done and we must all agree to get this constitution reviewed.

It is a good book I must say and we’ve started very well but the thinking in 1992 is not the same in 2018. We have experienced it now and I can tell you from clause to clause, article to article the challenges we are facing. So why don’t we now capture not the experience, but also the vision. I don’t think the constitution is so sacrosanct that it cannot be amended but because of the fanatical commitment to misunderstanding what political parties stand for.”