Dr Dominic Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, has announced that the government has accepted a proposal to place a constitutional cap on the size of Parliament.
He disclosed that the government has accepted the proposal to cap the total number of Members of Parliament, not expected to exceed 300.
Dr Ayine revealed that the proposed arrangement would retain the current constituency-based electoral system but would introduce a proportional representation component that will ensure a greater participation of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in Parliament.
The government proposed that 276 Members of Parliament will continue to be elected through the existing constituency-based elections.
However, the remaining 24 seats will be allocated through a proportional representation mechanism designed to increase the representation of women, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and young people.
Presenting the White Paper on Thursday, July 30, Dr Ayine stated, “The government has accepted that the size of Parliament be capped and we propose a ceiling of 300 members. The current membership of Parliament is 276, and so these will be elected directly in constituency elections like we already have, and the remaining 24 will be elected or selected through proportional representation among women, persons with disabilities and the youth.
“An independent study will be commissioned into the design of the proportional representation element. Capping Parliament saves cost, and the reserve element opens the doors of our legislature wider to those that our politics have historically kept outside.”
Also, the John Mahama government has accepted a proposal to constitutionally cap the number of ministers that can be appointed by a president at 60.
Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, presenting the government’s White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) recommendations on Thursday, July 30, 2026, made this known.
He revealed that government had endorsed the principle of limiting the size of government but opted for 60 instead of 57 proposed by the Constitutional Review Committee.
Dt Dominic Ayine stated, “Government has accepted the proposal to cap the number of ministers. But instead of 57, as the committee recommended, the government is proposing that it should be capped at 60.”
According to the Attorney General, the proposed limit would be entrenched in the Constitution to ensure that future presidents cannot exceed the prescribed number of ministerial appointments.
“So it will be put into the Constitution that the number of ministers that any president elected by the sovereign people of this country can appoint will be only 60.”
Also, Dr Dominic Ayine disclosed that the government has accepted the Constitutional Review Committee’s (CRC) proposal to move Ghana’s presidential election to the first week of November.
According to Dr Ayine, the proposed change would provide a smoother transition to a new administration.
He argued that fixing the election period would also create a sufficient interval between the declaration of results and the inauguration of an incoming President on January 7.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Thursday, July 30, Dr Ayine stated, “We have accepted that the Presidential Election be held on a day in the first week of November as the Electoral Commission may specify by constitutional instrument. A fixed period giving certainty to the electoral calendar.
It allows the Commission, the parties and the observers to plan, and it ensures an adequate interval between the election and the inauguration of the incoming President on January 7,” he said.
In addition, Dr Dominic Ayine has announced that the Mahama 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.”
Although the Constitutional Review Committee proposed reducing the eligibility age from the current 40 years to 30 years, the Mahama administration has opted for a minimum age of 35 years.
“Still under the presidency, the committee recommended that the minimum age of eligibility for election as president be reduced from 40 years, currently in the Constitution, to 30 years. The government has accepted this recommendation in principle, subject to one modification,” he said.
“The minimum age will be 35 years, not 30 years. And of course, the details of this will be fashioned out by the Constitutional Review.”
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