Wat next afta Ghana accept proposal to extend presidential term limit from four to five years and oda constitutional review proposals?
Wia dis foto come from, GHANA PRESIDENCY
Ghana govment don accept one proposal to increase presidential term limit from four to five years.
Dem also accept proposal to reduce di age for presidential aspirants from 40 to 35 years.
Dis be some of di proposals wey di constitutional review committee (CRC) bin propose as di kontri dey try to make changes to di 1992 constitution.
For 19 January, President John Mahama bin select eight pipo to sit on top one committee wey go review di kontris constitution.
Di committee involve civil society reps, former Supreme Court Judge and oda lawyers and governance pipo.
Afta dia nationwide tour and meetings wit stakeholders, CSOs, organised groups, citizens and many odas, di committee present dia report to di president on 22 December 2025.
Dem bin make plenty proposals to di govment to reform di constitution to "move di kontri from electoral democracy to development democracy."
Di proposals cut across di executive, legislature, judiciary, media, and oda governance sectors.
Wia dis foto come from, GHANA PRESIDENCY
Key proposals wey di govment accept from di Constitutional Review Committee
- Presidential term extension from four to five years
Di govment don accept dis proposal to change di single term limit for presidents from four to five years.
According to di kontris Attorney General Dr Dominic Ayine, di extension dey provide realistic timeline for govment to implement dia policies.
"For di current four-year cycle, di early months of every administration na for transition matters, and di final year be for election preparation and oda tins," di Attorney General tok journalists for press conference.
- Di proposal also dey maintain di two-term limit, wit no possibility of third term.
Some sabi pipo already tok say even if dem change di term to seven years, politicians go still complain say e no be enough.
"I believe say political parties gatz dey prepared wit who dem wan appoint for govment even bifor dem win elections. Parties neva for rely on long term as solution to administrative delays," Executive Director for di African Institute of Strategic studies Dr Jonathan Asante Otchere tok.
- Capping of ministers at 60
Di govment accept di proposal to cap di number of ministers wey di president fit appoint at 60.
Di Attorney General tok say di govment endorse di principle of limiting di size of govment but dem round di number to 60 from di 57 wey di review committee bin propose.
"Govment don accept di proposal to cap di number of ministers. But instead of 57, as di committee bin recommend, di govment dey propose di cap at 60."
Im tok say di president no fit go beyond di number of ministerial appointments
"So dem go put for di Constitution say di number of ministers any president fit appoint go be only 60."
Di Attorney General also add say dis amendment go give di president flexibility to select di ministers sake of dem no go comot parliament.
- Reduction of minimum age to stand for president from 40 to 35 years
Di govment gree to reduce di minimum age for anybody to stand for president from 40 years to 35 years.
Di committee bin propose 30 years as di minimum age to dey eligible to contest presidential elections for di kontri.
But di govment bin shift am to 35 years, dem tok say dis go maintain high level of maturity.
Wia dis foto come from, NIPAH DENNIS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
- Govment endorse proposal for elections in November instead of December
Di Attorney General tok say di govment bin accept di November proposal by di committee for general elections.
Dem accept say make di kontri change di election timetable from first week for December to first week for November.
"Dis go allow di electoral commission and di political parties to plan and ensure enough time between when dem elect new president and when dem go inaugurate am on 7 January."
- Govment propose 10-year fixed term for Chief Justice
Di govment bin propose as part of di reforms for single fixed term of 10 years for di kontris Chief Justice.
"Govment dey support di fixed tenure of di Chief Justice, one non-renewable term of 10 years or until dem reach dia retirement age, whichever one dey come first."
Dr Ayine add say "dis dey ensure predictable transition for di head of di judiciary wey e dey comot any risk of indefinite occupancy for di office."
Di govment also bin propose di 19 as di cap for Supreme Court judges, even though di Constitutional Review Committee bin propose 15.
"We propose di 19, including di Chief Justice, to improve efficiency of di court and to manage public expenditure".
- Dual citizens by birth fit contest parliamentary elections for Ghana
Pipo wey get dual citizenship non for renounce dia foreign citizenship bifor dem contest parliamentary elections.
Di current arrangement be say, if pesin wan contest for parliament, wey dem get dual citizenship, dem gatz renounce di oda one, bifor dem go dey eligible to contest for parliament.
Wit di new proposal, pipo wit dual citizenship still fit contest and represent constituencies for Ghana parliament.
Wia dis foto come from, GHANA PRESIDENCY
- Abolishing the death penalty
For many years, human rights pipo and oda advocacy groups dey push for abolishing of di death penalty.
Di fresh govment proposal gree wit dis pipo, say wit current offences wey dey attract death sentence as punishment, now go get life imprisonment.
- Capping Parliament at 300 members
Currently Ghana parliament get 276 members wey dey represent dia constituencies.
Di review committee propose a cap for di number of lawmakers, na so di govment propose 300.
For di new proposal, 276 of di lawmakers to dey elected through constituency-based elections, di oda 24 seats go dey allocated to special groups – women, young pipo and pipo wit disabilities.
Di Attorney General Dr Dominic Ayine tok say "di govment go commission study to design di proportional representation of dis women, youth and pipo wit disabilities."
"Dis system go open di door of our legislature to those pipo wey politics don shut dem outside."
- Sitting presidents go pay tax on dia salary
Di govment bin accept di recommendation by di committee for presidents to pay tax on top dia salaries and allowances when dem bin dey for office.
Currently di president no dey pay tax on top im salary and allowances – so wit dis new proposal, di president go pay.
But di govment reject di proposal to tax di pension and retirement benefits of di president when dem comot office.
Wia dis foto come from, DELALI ADOGLA-BESSA/GETTY IMAGES
Wetin go happun afta govment accept dis proposals?
Even though di govment don accept many of di constitutional review committee proposals, dem go dey become law immediately.
Di president go establish wetin dem describe as Constitution Review implementation committee wey go prepare all di amendments.
Dis committee go prepare bills for wetin dem call entrenched and non-entrenched constitutional provisions.
Entrenched provision of di constitution be specific rule or article wey dey legally protected from change by normal lawmaking process for parliament.
For dis kind provisions, dem go require public referendum (direct vote by citizens) to change dem.
So for di proposals wey go change di term limit of president from four to five years, dem go require referendum to change am bifor e fit become law.
Di govment say dem go hold di referendum togeda wit di 2027 District Assembly elections to reduce cost.
For di oda proposals, dem go require only parliamentary law-making processes for di amendment to become law.
Di Attorney General tok say di implementation committee go present di draft bills for di oda proposals for October 2026.
Dr Ayine add say di govment go also introduce wetin dem call complementary legislation, wey include Human Rights Act and oda amendments to di public financial management Act, to implement some of di recommendations wey no dey require changes for di kontris constitution.
