The Paradox of Selective Jurisprudence: Partisan Opportunism and the Erosion of Constitutionalism in Ghana’s Fourth Republic

The political trajectory of Ghana’s Fourth Republic increasingly reflects a deeply concerning phenomenon: the instrumentalization of constitutional principles for factional advantage. The recent declaration of a nationwide protest by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) brings this systemic contradiction into sharp relief. While the constitutional right to assembly under Article 21(1)(d) remains a foundational pillar of our democratic architecture, the rhetorical framework of this march exposes a glaring deficit in institutional memory.

A critical review of Ghana's political history reveals a cyclical pattern of selective constitutionalism. Major political parties fiercely champion human rights, judicial independence, and state restraint when relegated to the opposition benches, yet routinely oversee executive overreach and institutional subversion when granted the levers of state power. To arrest this decay, Ghana must transcend the theatre of partisan grievance. We must demand an unyielding, non-negotiable compliance with the rule of law that binds the executive branch, regardless of the party in power.

Constitutional Deconstruction: The Subversion of Articles 14 and 21

The current governance crisis requires an uncompromising judicial and analytical examination of structural infractions against the 1992 Constitution, specifically focusing on the state's tension with Article 14 (Right to Personal Liberty) and Article 21 (General Fundamental Freedoms):

• Article 14 and the Normalization of Arbitrary Detention: The constitutional guarantee that no person shall be deprived of personal liberty except through legal procedure has been repeatedly tested by political actors. A flagrant historical example is the state's prolonged defiance of a 2019 High Court bail order for Gregory Afoko. By actively using state security apparatuses to bypass judicial decrees, the executive branch converts a fundamental human right into an extrajudicial privilege, eroding public faith in court orders.
• Article 21 and the Rationalization of Assembly and Speech: Under Article 21(1)(d), all citizens possess the right to freedom of assembly and text-based dissent. However, both major administrations have systematically weaponized police permits, public order laws, and security deployments to restrict opposing viewpoints. When the political class shifts from administration to opposition, their legal reading of Article 21 expands to demand absolute freedom, yet contracts immediately upon regaining executive power to suppress contemporary dissent.

Civil Society Perspectives: Critiques from CDD-Ghana and IMANI Africa

Ghana's preeminent public policy think tanks and civil society organizations (CSOs) have provided rigorous, non-partisan oversight tracking this executive dominance:

• CDD-Ghana on Executive Hegemony: The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has consistently warned against the excessive dominance of the executive president within Ghana’s current governance architecture. Under the leadership of Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, who chairs the Constitutional Review Committee, CDD-Ghana argues that true institutional independence cannot exist as long as the executive retains sweeping powers to appoint and terminate heads of independent state agencies.
• IMANI Africa on Institutional Capture: IMANI Africa has targeted the structural flaws that enable political capture of law enforcement and anti-corruption institutions. Vice President Kofi Bentil recently observed that Ghana cannot claim to be serious about fighting corruption if every change of government changes the outcome of high-profile prosecutions, referencing the chronic politicization of the judiciary following controversial acquittals. Furthermore, IMANI aggressively challenged executive dominance by filing a lawsuit to strip the President of the unilateral power to hire and fire security chiefs, though the Supreme Court subsequently dismissed the suit, affirming the President's total discretion over state architecture.

Comparative Analysis: International Trajectories of Democratic Decay

Ghana's current institutional challenges mirror international warnings where selective enforcement of the law initiated broader democratic backsliding:

• The Polish Judicial Capture (2015–2023): Under the Law and Justice (PiS) party, Poland experienced severe institutional decay when the executive branch systematically altered retirement laws to force out independent judges and pack the constitutional tribunal with loyalists, leading to unprecedented sanctions from the European Union.
• The Hungarian Illiberal Model: Hungary serves as an extreme global warning of how a political party can legally reshape an entire nation's constitutional framework. By adjusting appointment processes, limiting independent media, and undermining judicial oversight, the governing Fidesz party created a system where state institutions exist primarily to protect ruling elite interests.

Target-Specific Reforms for Democratic Preservation

1. For Parliamentarians: Asserting Legislative Autonomy

• De-whip Constitutional Matters: Members of Parliament must decouple national constitutional imperatives from partisan caucus directives, particularly during votes on public financial management and state institution oversight.
• Review Executive Appointment Powers: Parliament must actively support recommendations from the Constitutional Review Committee to protect tenure and insulate funding for independent regulatory and governance bodies.
• Enforce Financial Sanctions: Utilize the Public Accounts Committee to impose strict statutory sanctions on unsanctioned state spending, preventing the executive from bypassing legislative approval.

2. For the Media: Rejecting the Duopoly Narrative

• Pivot to Analytical Journalism: Media houses must abandon passive "he-said-she-said" reporting that amplifies political party spin. Journalists must adopt fact-checking frameworks that contrast current rhetoric with historical voting and governance records.
• Prioritize Constitutional Literacy: Dedicate regular airtime to structured civic education, utilizing legal scholars and civil society experts to deconstruct complex judicial rulings for the public, rather than relying on political party communicators.
• Enforce Equitable Accountability: Maintain an institutional archive of human rights infractions and rule of law violations, holding both administration and opposition figures to identical legal benchmarks.

3. For the Youth: Transcending Partisan Clientelism

• Reject Political Vigilantism: Young Ghanaians must completely disengage from informal party security wings and refuse to be weaponized as instruments of political intimidation or street-level disruption.
• Build Inter-Party Civic Coalitions: Establish independent, youth-led accountability networks outside traditional party structures to advocate for structural reforms, transparency, and sustainable youth development policies.
• Leverage Digital Platforms for Systematic Advocacy: Use digital tools to track legislative performance, monitor state expenditures, and run evidence-based campaigns against institutional corruption and executive overreach.

Democracy is not a flexible doctrine to be invoked only in moments of political displacement and abandoned upon the assumption of executive authority. The current constitutional frictions serve as a stark warning: if the rule of law is permitted to bend for partisan expediency today, the institutional machinery left behind will inevitably be weaponized against its creators tomorrow. The citizens of Ghana must refuse to serve as foot soldiers in a cyclical struggle for elite power substitution.

Our collective allegiance must belong exclusively to the sovereign principles of the 1992 Constitution, not to transient party colors. Constitutional stability will only endure when state actors harbor a greater fidelity to institutional due process than to political survival, ensuring that human rights remain inviolable, whether a party sits in the chamber of government or on the streets of protest.

✍️ Retired Senior Citizen For and on Behalf of all Senior Citizens of the Republic of Ghana 🇬🇭 Teshie-Nungua. akpaluck@gmail.com

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