President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that his government is considering constitutional reforms to extend the tenure of key political office holders from four years to five, arguing that the current term is too short to allow governments to effectively implement their development agenda before facing another election.
According to him, the planned reform would affect the offices of the President, Members of Parliament (MPs), District Chief Executives (DCEs) and Assembly Members if approved through the constitutional review process.
President Mahama announced the proposal during a stakeholder engagement in the Central Region as part of his two-day Resetting Ghana tour, where he outlined a number of governance reforms his administration intends to pursue.Ghana Economic Reports
“We’re changing the term of office from four to five years for President, Members of Parliament and DCEs, as well as Assembly Members,” the President said.
He noted that the nation’s current four-year political cycle places immense pressure on governments, leaving little time to fully execute policies before attention shifts to electioneering.
“Within Africa, it is only us and Nigeria that we run the four-year term of office. The four years are not enough. When you come you have to put in place your government and before you start working the four-year period is here and you have to go for an election,” he disclosed.
President Mahama stated that many African countries have adopted five-year political terms, which provides governments with greater stability and adequate time to implement programmes and deliver on their electoral promises.
“Several countries in Africa do five years and we want Ghana to follow suit,” he added.
The proposal also comes amid growing political speculation that President Mahama may seek to remain in office beyond his current tenure through constitutional reforms.
His latest remarks are likely to fuel those discussions.
By Ernest Kofi Adu
Tags: general nws, John Mahama
