Tanko Computer backs comprehensive review of 1992 Constitution

Deputy Director of Elections and Information Technology of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rashid Tanko Computer, says Ghana’s 1992 Constitution is due for a comprehensive review to address shortcomings that have emerged after more than three decades of operation.

He said the government is committed to the constitutional reform process and believes several recommendations previously outlined in a government White Paper have already informed its current position.

Mr Tanko Computer said the Constitution has “come of age” and must be reviewed to make Ghana’s democratic and administrative arrangements more responsive to current realities, he said on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday.

“Government means business in trying to give us a very revised Constitution because if you look at our Constitution, the one we have operated for almost 30 years plus, it has come of age. It needs to be revised; we need to review it properly and look at it.”

Mr Tanko Computer said any proposed changes to local government administration must take into account the fact that Ghana operates a unitary presidential executive system, rather than a federal system.

His comments come amid discussions about proposals for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), including calls for political parties to participate openly in such elections.

He argued that arrangements of that nature could function more effectively within a federal system, where powers and responsibilities are constitutionally distributed between central and sub-national governments.

“What TUC is talking of can work effectively under federalism, which we are not operating. This country is not under federal system,” he said.

According to him, Ghana's current political structure requires careful consideration of the relationship between the central government and local authorities before introducing reforms that could create competing political centres.

Mr Tanko Computer warned that allowing political parties to field candidates in MMDCE elections could result in a situation where the President belongs to one party while local authorities across an entire region are controlled by the opposition.

He used the Ashanti Region to illustrate his concern, suggesting that a government could face difficulties implementing national policies and coordinating the distribution of resources if opposition-affiliated DCEs controlled local administrations across the region.

“If you go all out and say everybody should go and contest as MMDCEs, political parties, we open the floodgates,” he said.

He argued that a President elected on a national mandate would have responsibility for the equitable distribution of resources and the security of the state, but could encounter challenges if local political leadership was dominated by an opposing party.

“You have your opponent go and put up candidates in the Ashanti Region and the whole of Ashanti Region have NPP DCEs sitting up there,” he said.

Mr Tanko Computer said such a scenario could create tensions in the coordination of government and potentially raise security concerns.

“You can imagine the kind of security threat that we are going to have in this country. That is the challenge,” he added.

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