Mahama To Miss Out As Ghana Backs Five-Year Presidential Term Proposal

Ghana’s government has accepted a proposal to amend the country’s Constitution by extending the presidential tenure from four years to five years and reducing the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 35 years.

The proposed reforms emerged from a review of the 1992 Constitution conducted by a committee established last year by President John Mahama.

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dominic Ayine, announced that the government had accepted the committee’s recommendations, saying the changes were aimed at giving future administrations more time to implement their programmes before returning to the electorate.

According to Ayine, the current four-year tenure limits the ability of governments to effectively deliver on their development agenda because a significant portion of the term is spent on transition processes and electioneering.

He said a five-year term would provide a more realistic period for governance, policy implementation and public evaluation of an administration’s performance.

The government also endorsed a proposal to extend the tenure of Parliament to align with the proposed five-year presidential term.

Another recommendation accepted by the government is to move presidential elections to the first week of November, creating a wider transition period before the January 7 inauguration of a new administration.

However, the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Ofosu, clarified on Thursday that the proposed constitutional amendment would not benefit President Mahama.

According to him, the changes, if eventually approved, would apply only to future presidents.

Before the proposals can become law, the constitutional amendment bill must pass through the required legislative processes before being presented to Ghanaians in a national referendum scheduled for 2027.

For the amendment to succeed, at least 40 per cent of registered voters must participate in the referendum, while a minimum of 75 per cent of those who vote must support the proposal.