Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has backed proposal for a five-year presidential term in Ghana, arguing that the current four-year cycle leaves governments with limited time to implement policies before campaigning for re-election begins.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, Kufuor said the fourth year of a presidential term often becomes dominated by election-related activities, with politicians making promises to voters instead of focusing fully on governance.
“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?” he asked.
He argued that a five-year term would give governments more time to demonstrate their performance before facing voters, allowing citizens to assess their records rather than being drawn into prolonged election campaigns.
The former President who served from 2001 to 2009, said his position was informed by practical experience in office.
In his last term in office, Kufuor made similar suggestion but he explained that he did not make the proposal at the time with intentions 2to extend his own tenure.
“I believe in the two 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 said.
He maintained that he supports a two-term limit for presidents but believes extending each term from four to five years could give governments more time to deliver on their programmes.
“Now I say five years, if for whatever reason my party (NPP) says no, that is their point of view,” he added.
The proposal is part of the ongoing constitutional reform process and cannot become law until it has been approved by parliament and the president.
The question of whether extending the presidential term will allow succeeding administrations enough time to carry out programs and finish development projects before requesting a renewed mandate from voters has dominated the presidential term discussion.
