Presidential Powers Under 1992 Constitution Are Excessive – Adom-Otchere

Paul Adom-Otchere, anchor of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana, has declared that he supports demands for the 1992 Constitution to be reviewed. One of the key reasons he supports such requests, he claims, is the need to rethink the President’s powers, which he believes are ‘excessive.’ The enormous presidential powers, according to Adom-Otchere, derive from the birth of the existing Constitution, which he claims was written to appease a tyrant who was persuaded to democratize – i.e. late Jerry John Rawlings. One of the reasons he agreed with #FixTheCountry activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, he added, was because of the review call. “I agreed with him on the assumption that the 1992 Constitution should be re-examined and some revisions made at the very least.” “Our enthusiasm for the 1992 Constitution is that we believe the President’s powers under it are excessive, and we know why,” he said. “The Constitution was tailor-made for a military dictator.” “And we do know why,” he said, “because in order for him (the dictator) to feel comfortable leading a democratic state, he needed to be certain that most of the powers he used as a military dictator would be available to him once he was transformed into a civilian leader.” “However, now that the military dictatorship is past and the country’s stability is nearly assured, we believe it is time to revisit the constitution,” he continued. Rawlings, who died in 2020, has previously spoken out on the necessity for a constitutional review. According to a GNA article, he called for the elimination of entrenched provisions, stating that it was vital to eliminate entrenched clauses that shielded high-level political players and emboldened some of them to misuse their positions and benefit financially from them. He was speaking at Nungua in Accra for the 40th Anniversary Parade and Wreath Laying of his June 4 Revolution. Many Constitutional articles do not serve the national interest, according to the former military dictator turned civilian President, who urged for the immediate formation of a constituent assembly to examine them. “Over the years, the indemnification provisions have empowered some individuals to misuse their powers and benefit themselves,” stated former President Rawlings, who is also the Founder of the NDC. “It is clear that many of our citizens are losing faith in our constitutional duty.” The Fourth Republic’s Constitution was written by us, for us, and to serve us, and after 25 years, there is a clear need to amend or replace our existing Constitution.” “Their task would include evaluating all of the constitutional elements, notably the problematic ones, including the transitional provisions and indemnification clause,” he said, adding that an immediate constituent assembly should be convened with the required authorities to revise the Constitution. Source: Ghanaweb.com