The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reaffirmed its support for Ghana’s existing four-year presidential mandate, rejecting the Constitutional Review Committee’s recommendation to extend presidential and parliamentary terms to five years.
The party says the four-year electoral cycle provides an important opportunity for citizens to regularly evaluate the performance of elected governments and either renew or withdraw their mandate.
The NPP’s position was announced by the Member of Parliament for Gushegu, Sulemana Tampuli Alhassan, at a press conference on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The Constitutional Review Committee, chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, proposed extending the presidential term from four to five years as part of its broader recommendations for reviewing the 1992 Constitution.
Government subsequently accepted the proposal, alongside a corresponding five-year term for Parliament. It said the longer mandate would give administrations more time to formulate, implement and assess policies under the electoral cycle.
The NPP, however, said the challenges associated with the current four-year cycle should be addressed through improved efficiency and timely decision-making rather than extending the tenure of elected governments.
Mr Tampuli said the party believed the existing arrangement strengthened democratic accountability by ensuring that voters had relatively regular opportunities to assess the performance of governments.
He said extending the presidential term could reduce the frequency with which citizens exercised that form of electoral accountability.
The NPP therefore maintains that the four-year presidential term should be retained, placing it at variance with both the CRC recommendation and the government’s position on the issue.
The debate over the proposed five-year term forms part of a wider constitutional reform process. Government has accepted several of the CRC’s recommendations and established a Constitution Review Implementation Committee to advance the implementation process.
The NPP’s position also comes amid similar concerns from other groups. The Trades Union Congress has rejected the proposed five-year presidential term, while the Citizens’ Platform on Constitutional Reform has also called for the retention of the four-year mandate.
