The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South and Vice Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has said that major constitutional changes such as extending the presidential term should be decided directly by Ghanaians, not politicians.
He made this point while reacting to the final report of the Constitution Review Committee (CRC), which was recently presented to President John Dramani Mahama.
The CRC report proposes several amendments to the 1992 Constitution, including extending the presidential term from four to five years and reducing the minimum age required to contest the presidency.
Mr Awuah argued that politicians should not be trusted to decide on issues that directly affect their own political power.
“Looking at the nature of the presidency, most presidents would naturally want to stay in office for as long as possible. Party members would also want their party to remain in power indefinitely. That is why such decisions should not be left to politicians but to the people,” he said.
He stressed that allowing elected officials alone to make such far-reaching decisions could undermine Ghana’s democracy.
“If we truly want to protect our democracy, these matters should not be handled only by representatives. There is clear evidence that similar constitutional changes in other countries have led to serious problems,” he added.
Mr Awuah cited developments in neighbouring Benin as a warning, noting that political instability followed shortly after a change to presidential term limits.
“In Benin, there was an attempted coup not long after the presidential term was extended from five to seven years,” he said.
