Credit Kwame Nkrumah as pacesetter of Ghana’s democracy – CPP

 Mr Abdul Malik Jeleel, Deputy National Com­munications Director, Convention People’s Party (CPP) has lauded Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, as the “pacesetter of Ghana’s sustained democracy”.

In an interview to mark this year’s Constitution Day, which was commemorated on Saturday, Jan­uary 7, he said the foundation of Ghana’s constitutional rule started when the CPP government adopt­ed the first constitution in 1957.

The adoption of the first Constitution, Mr Jeleel said, had a positive impact and accounted for the success of the 4th Republican Constitutional rule.

“As we celebrate the Constitu­tion Day, credit ought to be given to Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah for the foundation he laid, making Ghana as the beacon of hope of Africa’s democracy building in the 21st century.

“The recent coup d’états in  Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, and other African countries should make Ghanaians, especially our Armed Forces and other security agencies applaud themselves and use the day to uphold our consti­tutional rule despite challenges in governance,” he said.

Since 2019, every December 7 has been observed as Constitution Day, a public holiday set aside to mark the coming into effect of the 1992 Constitution and the birth of the Fourth Republic.

Mr Jeleel urged the media and the civil society to play their key roles as democratic actors for a strengthened rule of law as well as effective governance for accelerat­ed development and growth.

While condemning some cha­otic conducts of the Majority and Minority caucuses in Parliament which he said had stained the country’s democratic credentials, he urged Members of Parliament to work together in the interest of the people. Mr Jeleel said al­though, heated debates were part of the culture of the House, such situations should be managed in a manner that did not lead into fisticuffs.

“The application of the 1957 Constitution also had heated debates; for example, in Decem­ber 1957, the CPP- dominated Parliament passed the Avoidance of Discrimination Act (ADA) and the Preventive Detention Act (PDA).

“The CPP adopted uncom­promising attitude and strategy of using its majority in parlia­ment to get their Bill passed without using an open- floor fight in the chamber of Parliament,” he noted.

Mr Jeleel rallied the citizenry to be “responsible citizens” and contribute their quota in their re­spective disciplines to strengthen and sustain the country’s consti­tutional rule. -GNA