Secretary to Ghana’s Constitution Review Committee (CRC), Dr. Rainer Akumperigya, has explained that the Committee recommended reducing the minimum age required to contest for the presidency from 40 years to 30 years to promote greater youth participation and inclusivity in the country’s democratic governance.
According to Dr. Akumperigya, the recommendation was informed by the growing influence of young people in Ghana’s democracy and the need for the Constitution to reflect changing social and technological realities.
He said the Committee recognised that young people constitute a significant proportion of the country’s population and play an increasingly important role in elections, civic engagement and public discourse.
“From 40 to 30, we thought that we needed to recognize the percentage of young people in our democracy, the percentage of young people in the democracy, not just at the executive function level, but even in voting patterns and the involved civic groups and all of that,” he said.
Dr. Akumperigya noted that the emergence of the internet and social media has transformed leadership and influence, making age a less significant factor in determining an individual’s ability to mobilise people and contribute meaningfully to national development.
He observed that “we took account of the age that we are, the internet information age that we are, how readily available information are, media influencers or social media influencers and all of that. You could have someone at 25 years that has a following of like 30 million or 35 million.”
He stressed that the Committee’s proposal was intended to expand democratic participation rather than restrict it.
“We wanted to open this up because democracy is more about participation, inclusivity, rather than exclusivity,” he stated.
Dr. Akumperigya further argued that lowering the age threshold would not automatically guarantee anyone the presidency, as aspiring candidates would still have to secure the endorsement of their political parties and ultimately win the confidence of the Ghanaian electorate.
“Whether you are 30 or 35, the difference is not much; you still have to subject yourself. And how a 30-year-old man or 35-year-old man can emerge from the primary of a major party like the MPP or NDC, accepted by the rank and file, and then eventually be the candidate for such a major party and convince the rest of Ghanaians that he is the best person to run the affairs of the country and is voted, then the country shouldn’t wait because of whether the President is 30 or 35 years,” he explained.
The Constitution Review Committee’s recommendation forms part of broader proposals aimed at reforming Ghana’s constitutional framework to make it more responsive to contemporary democratic governance and enhance citizen participation, particularly among the youth.
Source: Newspyramid.com
