Delegates of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have rejected the proposal to define “Youth” in the Constitution as a Member of the Party who is not above the age of 35 years.
The over 5,500 delegates participating in the July 19, 2025 National Delegates Conference, through a voice vote, rejected the proposal, leaving the old system which classifies the youth above age 35 standing.
Motion 54 had sought to amend Article 15(4) of the Constitution by defining “Youth” in the Constitution to refer to a Member of the Party who is not above the age of 35 years.
The justification by those who proposed the amendment was that “the age limit for ‘Youth’ per all the International Conventions and National Laws shows that the highest age limit is 35 years. The UN puts the age bracket between 15-24 years; WHO: 15-29; UNICEF: 15-24; ILO: 15-24; African Youth Charter: 15-35. In Ghana, the National Youth Authority Act, 2016 (Act 939) defines a ‘Youth’ as a person between 15-35 years.”
However, the delegates rejected the proposed amendment.
The vote on this proposal was taken twice after the committee supervising the process had initially ruled in favour of those who accepted the amendment.
The delegates resisted and kept shouting ‘nay’, forcing the voice vote to be taken again to affirm their rejection of the proposed amendment.
The delegates also voted to amend Article 15(4) of the Constitution to make all youth delegates at the National Delegates Conference eligible to vote for the position of National Youth Organiser.
The justification for the amendment of the article was that “The current regulations on the election of the National Youth Organiser is not inclusive. This amendment allows all youth delegates to participate in the election of the National Youth Organiser”.
A total of 56 proposed amendments were
submitted before the delegates, and 54 of them were approved, with two rejected.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
