Government Backs Five-Year Presidential and Parliamentary Terms, Sets Presidential Age at 35

Ghana’s government has endorsed a proposal to increase the tenure of the President and Members of Parliament from four years to five years, arguing that the longer period would give administrations more time to implement and assess their policies.

The decision was announced by Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, while presenting the government’s White Paper on the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC).

Under the proposal, the five-year tenure would apply to both the presidency and Parliament, ensuring that the two electoral cycles remain aligned.

Dr Ayine explained that the existing four-year cycle leaves limited time for governments to fully execute their programmes, as the early part of an administration is often occupied with transition activities while the final year is heavily influenced by election preparations.

The government believes extending the tenure to five years would provide a more practical period for policy formulation, implementation and assessment.

The government has also agreed in principle to reduce the minimum age for presidential candidates, although it has proposed a different threshold from that recommended by the CRC.

While the committee proposed reducing the eligibility age from 40 to 30 years, the government has settled on 35 years as the minimum age for presidential candidates.

The Attorney General indicated that the detailed provisions for the proposed changes would be developed through the ongoing constitutional review process.