The Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) has proposed three major reforms aimed at strengthening governance and enhancing political inclusivity in Ghana.
First, the committee recommended amending Article 78(1) to prevent Members of Parliament (MPs) from simultaneously holding positions as Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers, or Regional Ministers, effectively separating the Executive from the Legislature.
Second, it suggested extending the presidential term from four to five years, while maintaining the existing two-term limit, to allow leaders sufficient time to design and implement long-term development policies.
Third, the committee recommended reducing the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 30 years, reflecting calls for greater generational representation in national leadership.
These recommendations were disclosed by Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee, when he presented the report to President John Dramani Mahama at the Presidency in Accra.
The committee, inaugurated on January 19, spent 11 months reviewing the constitution and consulting stakeholders across the country.
Speaking on the separation of powers, Prof. Prempeh highlighted the challenges posed by Ghana’s current hybrid system, which allows MPs to hold executive positions while also performing legislative duties.
“We have looked at the evidence, and it does appear that it’s not working quite well here. Since we’re supposed to make actionable recommendations, we thought it also has to respond to our specific context,” he said.
He stressed that separating the Executive from the Legislature would allow Parliament to focus on its law-making and oversight responsibilities, while the Executive concentrates on governance and policy implementation.
On the proposed five-year presidential term, the committee argued that Ghana’s four-year electoral cycle often encourages short-term political gains, frequent cabinet reshuffles, and policy discontinuities, particularly in critical sectors such as infrastructure, education, and economic planning.
Extending the term would give presidents sufficient time to develop, implement, and consolidate national development strategies while maintaining accountability through the two-term limit.
The recommendation to lower the minimum presidential age from 40 to 30 years responds to growing public calls for generational inclusion in the country’s highest office.
The committee noted that Ghana’s youth—already the largest demographic group—are significantly underrepresented in executive leadership, despite many in their 30s holding senior roles in business, academia, civil society, and public administration.
This change, the report argues, would better reflect the country’s youthful population in political leadership and open opportunities for new perspectives in governance.
President Mahama commended the committee for its work, emphasising the importance of implementing the proposals to strengthen democratic institutions.
He announced that a Constitutional Review Implementation Committee would be commissioned early next year to begin the process of translating the report’s recommendations into actionable reforms, marking a significant step toward modernising Ghana’s constitutional framework.
These proposed reforms collectively aim to improve governance efficiency, encourage long-term policy planning, and ensure inclusive leadership that better represents Ghana’s youth, positioning the country for more stable and development-focused political leadership in the years ahead.
