Veteran journalist and political commentator Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has raised sharp concerns over what he describes as glaring constitutional ambiguities in Ghana’s presidential succession process, particularly regarding the role of the Chief Justice in the absence of the President and Vice President.
Speaking on Metro TV monitored by MyNewsGH, Pratt said he had thoroughly examined the 1992 Constitution and found no provision empowering the Chief Justice to act as President under any circumstances.
“Nowhere in the Constitution is it stated that the Chief Justice can act in the absence of the President,” he asserted. “I’ve gone through it. I’ve seen the letter in the spirit, but it simply doesn’t exist.”
Pratt’s comments appear to question recent interpretations of constitutional succession, where the Chief Justice’s name has been floated in scenarios involving presidential absence.
He clarified that Article 60 of the Constitution, which outlines the presidential line of succession, only provides for the Speaker of Parliament to act in the absence of both the President and Vice President.
According to him, that provision should naturally extend to whoever is constitutionally performing the duties of the Speaker, including the First Deputy Speaker when the substantive Speaker is unavailable.
“In the absence of the Speaker, the First Deputy Speaker automatically becomes Speaker and is qualified to perform the duties of President,” he argued, stressing the legal clarity of that arrangement.
Pratt, however, went further to criticize the very age and relevance of Ghana’s Constitution in the context of today’s technological advancements.
He described the document as “old-fashioned” and “outdated,” pointing out that it was crafted in an era when making an international phone call from Ghana could take hours.
“Some time ago, if you wanted to call London, you had to go to the Central Post Office, pay in advance, and wait six hours for the call to come through,” he recalled. “That was the context in which this Constitution was written.”
Today, he said, technological advances like Zoom, WhatsApp, and instant messaging have rendered many constitutional assumptions obsolete.
“The President could be in Kosum Kaya and still effectively run this country,” he noted. “The Speaker of Parliament can conduct parliamentary business from Rome or Kabul.”
Pratt’s remarks renew ongoing conversations about the need to review Ghana’s Constitution to reflect present-day realities, especially as leadership and governance are increasingly shaped by digital access and remote work.
