IT is said that for public opinion on any issue to be effective, the opinion must be sustained. This, we believe, explains the decision of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) to introduce the innovative information technology approach targeting 17.6 million mobile phone subscribers in the country to collate views on issues identified by the CRC via text messaging.
The “Text-in Question Campaign”, which was rolled out last week Friday, will help Ghanaians to state their views on issues in the 1992 Constitution that require amendment.
The fact is that Constitutions all over the world are living documents which must be reviewed from time to time to stand the test of time and meet the aspirations of the people.
Our Constitution has been in operation for about 18 years now which, by all standards, is such a short period for any major review.
There are written and unwritten constitutions and in the case of the latter, the governance system is shaped by conventions instead of a rigid legal framework.
Be that as it may, there are many Ghanaians who have very strong views on certain provisions in the Constitution. The payment of ex gratia to Article 71 public office holders, the Indemnity Clauses, the election of district, municipal and metropolitan chief executives and an upper ceiling for Supreme Court judges are among a number of issues agitating the minds of such people.
In a democracy, no one expects unanimity on a number of issues, but by the rules of the game, if the majority decides along a certain direction, the rest are bound to abide by that decision. The essence is that in all these exercises, minority rights would be upheld even if their views are shot down.
It is for this reason that the DAILY GRAPHIC urges all Ghanaians to participate actively in the Text-in Question Campaign embarked upon by the CRC so that their views will be factored into the review document that will be made available to the Constitutional Conference in March next year.
The country’s democracy has been touted as a model on the African continent because as a people we all have tried to respect the provisions in our Constitution.
When any organ of state breached provisions in the Constitution, those who had the strong passion for the rule of law used due process to bring about law and order.
This achievement must be celebrated by all because it has led to a situation where Ghana has avoided any constitutional crisis since we adopted multi-party democracy in 1992.
The DAILY GRAPHIC recalls the calamity that nearly befell the country during the 2008 elections when we were on the brink of civil strife as a result of the tight nature of the polls.
Thankfully, cool heads prevailed as the protagonists agreed to respect the provisions in the Constitution, leading to a peaceful transfer of power from the government to the opposition, the second in less than a decade.
One useful lesson from such an experience is that the future of democracy lies in the dynamics of our national Constitution. Therefore, any sticky provision in the Constitution must be reviewed to pave the way for a document that will facilitate our march towards building a stronger and better society.
Next year, the international community will focus on us as we try to review the Constitution to make it a better document to improve the governance system and the new development agenda.
This import of the exercise requires that every Ghanaian puts his or her shoulders to the wheel so that with unity of purpose, the review exercise will meet the expectations of all.
The import of the exercise is to strengthen the governance system by championing the rule of law, respect for civil liberties and holding public office holders accountable to the people to ensure that the public purse is used to promote the welfare of the people.
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