Government increases tenure for presidency from four years, reduces minimum age to become president
Ghana’s government has approved major constitutional reform proposals that would increase the tenure of the President and Parliament from four years to five years while also reducing the minimum age required to contest the presidency from 40 years to 35.
The decision was announced on Thursday after the Constitution Review Committee presented its final report to President John Dramani Mahama.
The committee was set up in 2025 to examine the 1992 Constitution and recommend areas that should be amended.
Justice Minister Dominic Ayine said the government accepted the recommendation to extend the tenure of both the President and members of Parliament to five years.
The move is aimed at keeping both arms of government on the same election timetable.
The review committee had initially suggested lowering the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 years to 30 years.
However, after considering the proposal, the government decided that candidates must be at least 35 years old to seek the country’s highest office.
According to the committee, the current four-year tenure does not give elected governments enough time to fully carry out their plans.
It explained that a large part of the first year is spent appointing officials and settling into office, while preparations for the next election usually take over much of the final year.
The committee believes a five-year term would give governments more time to complete projects, carry out policies and improve service delivery before returning to voters for another election.
Since returning to constitutional rule in 1992, Ghana has remained one of Africa’s stable democracies, holding regular elections and witnessing peaceful transfers of power between political parties.
Although the government has approved the proposals, the changes will not take effect immediately.
They must first be presented to Ghanaians in a national referendum planned for 2027.
For the reforms to become law, they must receive the required level of voter turnout and enough public support during the referendum.
If approved, the amendments would become one of the biggest constitutional changes introduced in Ghana since the country returned to multi-party democracy.
