Government Response to Public Opinion in Ghana ' s Constitutional Review Process

Abstract

The government appointed a Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) in 2010 to solicit popular opinion on the need to review Ghana ' s 1992 Constitution. The review became necessary against the backdrop of perceived challenges of some provisions of the Constitution that were believed to be obstructive to the maturation of Ghana ' s democracy. In order to ensure that the opinion of the public constituted an essential part of the review process, a nation-wide popular opinion survey was conducted by the Governance Unit of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) to ascertain from the citizens regarding their views on aspects of the Constitution that should be reviewed. This article analyzes how the government responded to each of the issues raised by the public in the survey. The analysis shows that public opinion on critical aspects of the constitution that should be reviewed did not receive governmental attention. The article recommends that the government should work together with parliament and civil society to incorporate public opinion in the final document for sustainable democratization in Ghana