The government has endorsed a significant recommendation from the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to extend the terms of the President and Parliament from four years to five years, as announced by Attorney General and Minister for Justice Dr. Dominic Ayine.
In his presentation of the government’s White Paper on the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee, Dr. Ayine stated that this proposal aims to afford administrations additional time to implement and assess their policies prior to seeking re-election.
“The government has agreed to extend the presidential term from four years to five years, with the parliamentary term adjusted accordingly,” he remarked.
He explained that the existing four-year electoral cycle does not provide governments with adequate time to fulfill their programs, as the initial and final phases of each administration are heavily influenced by transition and election-related activities.
“Our perspective is pragmatic. The current four-year cycle results in the early months of each administration being occupied by transition issues, while the last year is predominantly focused on elections.”
Dr. Ayine emphasised that a five-year term would establish a more feasible timeframe for governance and policy execution.
“A five-year term offers a more realistic period for the development, implementation, and evaluation of government policies.”
Additionally, the Attorney General revealed that the government has, in principle, accepted the committee’s recommendation to reduce the minimum age for presidential candidates, albeit with a modification.
While the Constitutional Review Committee suggested lowering the eligibility age from the current 40 years to 30 years, the government has decided on 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.
He added, “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,” he added.
