CRC proposes five-year presidential term for Ghana

Ghana’s Constitution Review Committee has recommended extending the presidential term from four to five years, arguing that governments need more time to deliver on their mandates.

Presenting the Committee’s report to President John Mahama on Monday, 22 December, Chair Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh stressed that the proposal does not reopen the door to a third term for any president.

“We couldn’t find a place for a third term for the President,” Prof Prempeh said, noting that there was neither public demand nor political will for such a change and that President Mahama himself was not in favour. The Committee therefore chose to maintain the existing two-term cap while focusing on how to make each term more effective.

Prof Prempeh said the panel was influenced by submissions from former presidents and other eminent figures who argued that four years is too short for meaningful policy implementation. The Committee also noted that five-year presidential terms are increasingly common in other jurisdictions.

It further highlighted that a sizeable portion of the current four-year term is effectively lost to transition and campaigning. “The claim was that the President spends about six months settling into office and nearly a year campaigning,” Prof Prempeh explained.

To counter this, the Committee has paired the proposed term extension with recommendations to regulate campaign seasons, with the aim of curbing long, disruptive electioneering and giving sitting governments more focused time to govern and implement their programmes.