All You Need To Know About Ghana’s Constitutional Day

Constitution Day, marked on January 7th, is a statutory public holiday in Ghana.

This day in 1993 marks the implementation of the 1992 Constitution and the commencement of the Fourth Republic.

Ghanaian Constitution Day: A Brief History.

The 1992 Constitution entered into force on January 7, 1993, for the Fourth Republic of Ghana, following its overwhelming acceptance in a referendum held on April 28, 1992.

The Constitution defines the fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties of the government, structure of the judiciary and legislature, and spells out the fundamental rights and duties of a citizen.

January 7th is also the day new Heads of State are sworn into office in Ghana after elections.

The day is intended to acknowledge Ghana’s collective efforts at ensuring that the tenets of democracy, rule of law and principles of constitutionalism are upheld.

The Fourth Republic has now endured for longer than any of the three previous republics, which were all cut short by military intervention.

Constitution Day is a new Public Holiday, which was observed for the first time in Ghana on January 7th 2019. This day has been declared as an additional holiday under Section 2 of the Public Holiday Act, 2001 (Act 601).

The newly designated holiday is intended to remind Ghanaians of their commitment to uphold the tenets of the rule of law, constitutionalism and democracy.

More importantly, the day serves to remind citizens of their shared commitment to a regime of unbroken constitutional order.

With the inclusion of Constitution Day, Republic Day (July 1st) was changed from a national holiday to a memorial day.

Published By: Sir Phylose