Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Prof Henry Kwasi Prempeh, says a five-year presidential term could break Ghana’s growing culture of automatic eight-year presidencies.
Speaking on Joy News on December 25, he said the current four-year term leaves presidents with very little effective governing time.
“So you come in, you are supposed to appoint everybody,” he said. “The new Council of State has to come up before you appoint, consult them and appoint. So it takes forever.”
He said these delays affect governance early on. “We sorted out some of those things right to free up time so that this management issue doesn’t happen,” he explained.
Beyond administrative delays, Prof Prempeh said the committee examined global trends and found Ghana is now out of step.
“Ghana is among a dwindling number of countries that still do four years, especially new democracies and in Africa,” he said.
He noted that longer terms are now the norm. “Most do five. In our region, some do seven,” he said.
“Benin and Liberia, I think, do six years. Nigeria and Ghana have four years. We and Nigeria are always matching together lockstep.”
According to him, the evidence was clear. “The global norm now has shifted from four to five in presidential systems,” he said, adding that “in our own region, five is the norm.”
Prof Prempeh said the committee accepted that term limits are not fixed by science.
“Since any number is arbitrary, then let’s be guided by comparative best practice,” he said. “So if the world is moving towards five, then maybe it makes sense five.”
He said voter behaviour was also central to the proposal. “People tell us, ‘Oh, when their term is coming to an end, give us another term. We didn’t have enough time,” he said.
According to him, voters often accept that argument under the four-year system. “A Ghanaian voter might accept that four years is not enough and give you a second term to finish your work,” he said.
But he said five years changes that calculation. “If you have five years, it is going to be difficult to convince a voter that five years was not enough,” he said.
Prof Prempeh stressed that the proposal is tougher on incumbents, not easier. “Our thinking is that actually five years is tough on the incumbent,” he said.
He said poor performance would carry consequences. “If you have not performed well in five years, Ghanaians are not really going to entertain the thought of letting you stay,” he said.
According to him, this could disrupt Ghana’s eight-year pattern. “The four, four was becoming like a tradition, like everybody gets eight,” he said.
But he said a five-year system may change outcomes. “This time, we may be getting more presidents getting five,” he said.
Prof Prempeh rejected the idea that the proposal guarantees a longer rule. “It’s not like you just multiply five by two and say, hey, 10 years, there is too much,” he said.
He said earning a second term would be harder. “The 10 is going to be difficult to get,” he added.
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