Govt Backs Five-Year Presidential Term
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
The government has accepted a recommendation by the Constitutional Review Committee to extend the tenure of the President and Members of Parliament from four years to five years, arguing that the current constitutional cycle does not provide sufficient time for governments to effectively implement their development programmes.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, announced the government’s position at government accountability series on Thursday, July 30, shortly after the Constitutional Review Committee presented its final report to President John Dramani Mahama at the Jubilee House.
According to Dr. Ayine, the government believes a five-year mandate would provide a more practical timeframe for policy formulation, implementation and evaluation, while reducing the disruptive effects of Ghana’s frequent election cycle on governance and national development.
He explained that under the existing four-year constitutional arrangement, a considerable portion of every administration is devoted to transition activities at the beginning of its tenure, while the final year is largely dominated by election campaigns and political activities, leaving governments with limited time to fully execute their policy agenda.
“The government has accepted the recommendation to extend the term of office of the President from four years to five years, with the term of Parliament extended to correspond with this. Our thinking is practical. Under the current four-year cycle, the early months of every administration are consumed by transition and the final year is consumed by election. A five-year term provides a more realistic timeframe for the formulation, implementation and the assessment of every government,” Dr. Ayine stated.
The Attorney-General indicated that the proposal is intended to improve policy continuity, strengthen long-term planning and enable governments to deliver more effectively on their electoral commitments before returning to the electorate for another mandate.
The recommendation forms part of a broader package of constitutional reforms contained in the final report of the Constitutional Review Committee, chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh.
The committee was tasked with reviewing Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and proposing reforms to strengthen democratic governance, improve the effectiveness of state institutions and address constitutional challenges that have emerged over the past three decades.
Among the proposals are recommendations affecting governance structures, the powers of key constitutional institutions and the tenure of elected office holders.
If ultimately approved through the constitutional amendment process, the proposed extension of the presidential and parliamentary terms would represent one of the most significant changes to Ghana’s democratic governance framework since the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution.
The proposal will now form part of the broader constitutional review process, which is expected to involve stakeholder consultations and, where required under the Constitution, approval through a national referendum before any amendments can take effect.
