The National Liberation Council (NLC) government appointed a representative assembly to draft a constitution for the Second Republic of Ghana. The constitutional commission was headed by Justice Edward Akuffo-Addo, whose commission presented draft proposals for the new constitution on January 26, 1968. Political party activity was allowed to commence with the opening of the assembly. By election time in August 1969, the first competitive nationwide political contest since 1956, five parties had been organized. The assembly produced a document providing for a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Largely in response to Nkrumah's authoritarian excesses, the president's powers were greatly reduced, to a point almost entirely ceremonial. Real power rested with the prime minister and cabinet.
January 26, 1968: The Draft Constitution for the 2nd Republic presented