The Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has clarified that the government’s proposed constitutional amendment to extend the presidential term from four years to five years will not apply to incumbent President John Dramani Mahama.

His clarification follows the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine’s announcement that the government has accepted a recommendation by the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to extend the tenure of both the President and Members of Parliament from four to five years.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Kwakye Ofosu sought to dispel speculation that the proposed amendment could benefit the current President.

“Attorney-General says Government accepts recommendation of Constitutional Review Committee to extend presidential term from 4 to 5 years. Minimum eligible age to contest for president reduced to 35 from 40. For the avoidance of doubt, this proposed amendment does not apply to the incumbent President,” he wrote.

Presenting the government’s White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee’s recommendations, Dr Ayine said the proposal is intended to provide future administrations with a longer period to implement their policies and programmes before returning to the electorate.

According to the Attorney-General, the existing four-year electoral cycle leaves governments with limited time to effectively execute their development agenda, as transition processes and election-related activities often dominate the beginning and end of every administration.

He argued that extending the tenure to five years would provide a more practical timeframe for governance, policy implementation and the assessment of government performance.

The government also accepted another recommendation to lower the minimum age required to run for president from 40 to 35 years.

The proposed constitutional amendments are expected to undergo the required legislative and constitutional processes before they can take effect.