Today, January 7, 2020 is being marked across the country as ‘Constitution Day’.
The day is to celebrate the country’s stable period of democratic rule and to recognize the coming into force of the 1992 constitution and the beginning of the 4th Republic.
The day was first marked in 2019 after parliament amended the Public Holidays Act to January 7, August 4 and September 21 as statutory public holidays.
It also made July 1, formerly a Republic Day Holiday, a commemorative day just as May 25, which was AU Day Holiday.
President Akufo-Addo in a message on his Facebook page to commemorate the day said:
“Today, we celebrate the most prolonged period of stable, constitutional rule in the history of Ghana, and acknowledge our collective efforts, as a country, in upholding the tenets of democracy, the rule of law and the principles of constitutionalism.”
The 1992 Constitution
The 1992 Constitution came into force on January 7, 1993, after it had been approved in a referendum on April 28, 1992.
It defines the fundamental political principles establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties of the government, the structure of the Judiciary and the Legislature.
It also states, in very clear terms, the fundamental rights and duties of a citizen.
January 7 subsequent to an election year is also the day Heads of State are sworn into office in Ghana.
Fourth Republican Presidents
President Jerry John Rawlings was the first President of the Fourth Republic. He assumed power from January 7, 1993 to January 7, 2001, after serving two four-year terms.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) President then handed over to Mr John Agyekum Kufuor on January 7, 2001. President Kufuor, who came to power on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), ended his two terms at the end of 2008.
He was succeeded by Professor John Evans Atta Mills, who was elected on the ticket of the NDC and sworn into office on January 7, 2009. He served for three years, 199 days, before passing on to glory on July 24, 2012.
President Mills’ Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, was sworn into office the same day to complete the former’s first term.
Mr Mahama then contested the elections in 2012, won and served for four years, before losing it in 2016.
He was succeeded by the incumbent President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on January 7, 2017.
This year’s activities
Activities lined up for this year’s celebration include a constitutional day lecture, slated for Friday.
The inaugural lecture, on the theme: “Constitutionalism in Ghana’s Fourth Republic: Towards functional performance”, was delivered by the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson.