John Agyekum Kufuor, a former President, has backed the government proposal to extend the country’s presidential term from four to five years.
Ex-president Kufuor argues that an additional year would give governments more time to implement their policies and development projects.
According to Kufuor, the current four-year term was insufficient for governments to deliver on their programmes, stressing that the fourth year is an election year.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with JoyNews’ Evans Mensah, Kufuor stated, “
“Four years is too short for a young nation that is trying to develop,” he said.
“… fourth year is an election year; election year anywhere in the world is a mud year. Everybody is going around promising and talking, and then the election comes, and you have to pay something to the voter to put you back; what is the benefit?. Fourth year, if the government is good, the people will know, and then the fifth year is election year, allowing the politicians,” he noted.
“I believe in the two terms (a system that allows an individual to become president for two separate terms), but four years for a developing young country like ours, and I have gone through the experience, so I spoke from practical experience, and it was my last State of the Nation address that I brought it up; I didn’t say it to lengthen my stay,” he added.
He further added, “Now I say five years; if for whatever reason my party (NPP) says no, that is their point of view”.
It will be recalled that the CRC, chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, recommended extending the presidential term from four years to five years as part of its broader constitutional reform proposals.
The Mahama government, through the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has announced that the government has accepted a key recommendation of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to extend the tenure of the President and Parliament from four years to five years.
Presenting the government’s White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee’s recommendations, Dr Ayine stated, “The government has accepted a recommendation to extend the term of office of the President from four years to five years, with the term of Parliament extended to correspond with this”.
“Our thinking is practical. Under the current four-year cycle, the early months of every administration are consumed by transition matters, and the final year is largely consumed by elections.”
“A five-year term provides a more realistic time frame for the formulation, implementation and assessment of government policy.”
Meanwhile, Ghana’s biggest opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has rejected the Constitutional Review Committee’s (CRC) recommendation to extend Ghana’s presidential term from four years to five years.
The NPP argued that the four-year presidential term provides an important mechanism for democratic accountability.
According to the NPP, the four-year presidential term also allows citizens to regularly assess the performance of elected governments and decide whether to renew or withdraw their mandate.
The NPP stressed that they had taken a different position from the government and the CRC on the proposed extension.
Meanwhile, Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, has rejected calls to extend Ghana’s presidential term beyond four years.
According to Togbe Afede, the economic difficulties Ghana faced in 2022, 2023 and 2024 are among the reasons he does not support extending the term.
Togbe Afede argued that although there may be reasons to consider a longer presidential term, he however noted that the impact of a government’s decisions on the people must also be taken into account.
Speaking at the 2026 Asogli Teza on Saturday, October 3, 2026, Togbe Afede stated, “Let me add that we all saw the difficulties of the years 2022, 2023, 2024 in particular, and for me, the consequences that we experienced are the reasons why I am not in favour of extending the presidential term beyond four years”.
“Because I cannot, or I could not imagine one more year under the kind of government we had at the time,” he added.
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