Ghana’s government has formally accepted a recommendation to extend the tenure of the president and members of parliament from four years to five years.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine announced the decision on Wednesday while presenting the government’s White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee’s recommendations.
Ayine said the current four-year electoral cycle placed significant constraints on governance, with early months of every administration consumed by transition activities and the final year dominated by electioneering.
“Our thinking is practical. Under the current four-year cycle, the early months of every administration are consumed by transition matters, and the final year is largely consumed by elections,” he said.
“A five-year term provides a more realistic time frame for the formulation, implementation and assessment of government policy.”
The government also accepted in principle a recommendation to reduce the minimum age for presidential candidates, though it proposed setting the threshold at 35 years rather than the 30 years recommended by the Constitutional Review Committee.
Under Ghana’s current 1992 Constitution, presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old.
“The minimum age will be 35 years, not 30 years. And of course, the details of this will be fashioned out by the Constitutional Review,” Ayine said.
The recommendation to extend the presidential term from four to five years was the headline proposal of the eight-member Constitutional Review Committee, chaired by Professor Kwasi Prempeh and appointed by President John Dramani Mahama in January 2025.
The committee argued that Ghana’s four-year term fell below regional and global norms and left governments too little time to deliver on their mandates.
Because extending the presidential term involves an entrenched provision of the 1992 Constitution, any change will ultimately require approval through a national referendum, with at least 40 per cent of registered voters participating and 75 per cent voting in favour.
(The Whistler)