Accra: Civil Society Organisations and the Citizen Platform on Constitutional Reforms have been established to ensure broad civic engagement in the constitutional reform process and to enhance its effectiveness. The platform unites over 70 organizations, including civil society groups, professional bodies, trade unions, academia, faith-based institutions, and policy groups, under a 20-member Steering Committee that provides strategic coordination and direction.
According to Ghana News Agency, Friends of the Nation (FoN), a renowned NGO, serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the Western Region and acts as the focal organization for both the Western and Central Regions. FoN is instrumental in facilitating mobilization and engagement at the regional level. Mr. Donkris Mevuta, the Executive Director of FoN, emphasized the importance of the platform during a two-day workshop organized by the CDD and Star Ghana, with funding from the UK International Development. He stated that constitutional reform should not be limited to Accra, highlighting the significance of the platform's launch.
The workshop aimed to enhance participants' understanding of the constitutional review process, equip civil society organizations with practical advocacy and engagement skills, and promote collaboration among civil society actors to ensure effective and coordinated action on constitutional reform. Across the country, concerns about executive dominance, weak separation of powers, limited decentralization, and accountability gaps have renewed calls for reform.
Mr. Mevuta noted that the reforms must reflect voices from across the country, representing women, youth, persons with disabilities, traditional leaders, professionals, informal sector workers, and marginalized communities. He remarked, "If the Constitution governs all of us, then all of us must help shape it," describing the initiative as non-partisan and patriotic.
The platform aims to ensure that no voice is left behind in shaping Ghana's constitutional future and urges all stakeholders not to be mere spectators in this historic process. Mr. Mevuta called on civil society organizations, media practitioners, youth and women's groups, faith leaders, professional associations, and all citizens in the Western and Central Regions to actively participate, contribute ideas, and remain engaged throughout the constitutional review process.
The Citizens Platform on Constitutional Reform was launched in 2025 to serve as a coordinated framework ensuring that the ongoing constitutional review process is participatory and citizen-driven. Mr. Mevuta stressed that the Constitution belongs to Ghanaians and that the reforms must reflect the people, asserting that "its future depends on our participation."