Delegates at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Delegates Conference on Saturday, July 19, overwhelmingly voted against a proposed amendment that sought to redefine the age limit for youth within the party’s constitution.
Motion 54, which aimed to amend Article 15(4) to cap the youth age at 35, was rejected by a thunderous voice vote at the University of Ghana Stadium.
The loud and unanimous “No” from the delegates rendered any formal count unnecessary.
Chairman of the NPP Constitutional Amendment Committee, Frank Davies, who presented the motion, said the proposed change was meant to align the party’s internal definition of youth with international and national benchmarks.
“Motion 54, amend Article 15(4) of the NPP constitution by defining youth in the constitution to refer to a member of the party who is not above the age of 35 years,” Mr Davies stated.
Member of the Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, reading the justification on behalf of the committee, noted that while definitions vary, most global institutions place the upper age limit for youth between 24 and 35.
“The age limit for ‘Youth’ per all the International Conventions and National Laws shows that the highest age limit is 35 years. The UN puts the age bracket between 15 -24 years; WHO: 15-29; UNICEF: 15-24; ILO: 15-24; African Youth Charter: 15-35. In Ghana, the National Youth Authority Act, 2016 (Act 939) defines a ‘Youth’ as a person between 15 -35 years.”
Despite these arguments, the delegates opted to maintain the status quo.
“The ‘No’ has it, meaning we revert to the status quo, which puts the age of youth at not above 40 years,” Mr Davies confirmed.
The decision preserves the eligibility of many current youth leaders and reflects the delegates’ preference to maintain broader inclusion within the party’s youth wing.
The vote was part of broader deliberations at the conference, which is considering more than 50 motions drawn from over 300 proposed constitutional amendments submitted from across the country.
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