The Executive Director of the Center for Democratic Development of Ghana (CDD-Ghana), Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has pointed out that Article 66 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, the adoption of which marked the beginning of the Fourth Republic on 7 January 1993, is the reason why Ghana has not fallen back into a dictatorship.
Wishing Ghanaians a happy Constitution Day on social media today, 7th January 2023, Professor Prempeh, legal governance and policy consultant, noted that Article 66(2), which stipulates that a Ghanaian by birth he cannot hold the office of president for more than two four-year terms, he has been the bulwark between our democracy and the degeneration into a dictatorship.
“If there is a provision of the 1992 Constitution that has stood between us and the return to dictatorship in this Fourth Republic, it is article 66(2). Happy Constitution Day,” said Professor Prempeh.
Article 66 says:
“A person elected as President, subject to clause (3) of this article, shall hold office for a term of four years from the date he is sworn in as President.
(2) A person shall not be elected to serve as the President of Ghana for more than two terms.
(3) The office of President shall become vacant:
(a) at the expiration of the period specified in clause (1) of this article; either
(b) if the incumbent dies or resigns from office or ceases to hold office in accordance with article 69 of this Constitution.
(4) The President may, by writing signed by him and addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, resign his office as President.”
This provision is what Professor Prempeh believes has saved Ghana’s democracy and made it durable.
Ghanaians today celebrate Constitution Day in remembrance of the entry into force of the 1992 republican Constitution. This year’s celebration, the fourth since the holiday was instituted, is also the 30th anniversary of the Constitution.
