Professor H Kwasi Prempeh has revealed that public consultations by the Constitutional Review Committee uncovered growing frustration among citizens who feel Ghana’s democratic system no longer offers meaningful choices.
Reflecting on engagements held by the CRC, Prof Prempeh said people were appreciative of the freedoms democracy provides, particularly the ability to speak freely and vote governments in or out.
“They like the democracy that they are seeing in terms of an ability to speak your mind, to vote for the government you like, to vote against a party you don’t like,” he said on Hot Issues on TV3 monitored by MyNewsGh.
However, he noted that beneath that appreciation lay a deeper weariness. “I think they were getting a bit tired. We change these parties, and then what?” he asked, suggesting that many citizens no longer feel that electoral change leads to substantive transformation.
According to him, several participants expressed a sense that democracy had become limiting rather than empowering.
“For most people, you could get the sense that the democracy was becoming choiceless for them,” Prof Prempeh observed.
Despite the frustration, he described the openness of the discussions as encouraging.
“The openness with which people spoke their ideas was quite refreshing to see,” he said, adding that the honesty of the feedback would shape how the CRC approaches reform proposals.
