Petitions against CJ part of plans to make Mahama run for a third term — Justin Koduah

The General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Koduah, has alleged that President John Dramani Mahama is planning to run for a third term.

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana, adopted on January 7, 1993, states under Article 66 that a person shall not be elected to hold office as President of Ghana for more than two terms.

However, Koduah claimed in an interview on Accra-based Peace FM’s Kokrokoo programme on April 24 that President Mahama seeks to install a new Chief Justice who would interpret the constitutional limit to mean only two successive terms.

According to him, this would make Mahama, who lost his re-election bid in 2016 after one term, eligible to contest again after his current second term in 2028.

“I am telling you, certain people plan to interpret Article 66(2) of the Constitution to mean that the two-term limit refers to two successive terms. Therefore, because Mahama contested and lost before winning later, they argue that he is eligible to contest again since his terms were not successive,” he alleged.

“Mark today’s date, April 24, 2025, we will return to this issue. If that were not the case, the Chief Justice would not have been asked to stay home based on a frivolous petition,” Koduah added.

He was reacting to the suspension of the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Gertrude Esaaba Torkornoo.

The decision, announced on Tuesday, followed President Mahama’s determination, in line with Article 146(6) of the Constitution and in consultation with the Council of State, that a prima facie case had been established against the Chief Justice based on three petitions.

The President has since constituted a committee to inquire into the petitions.

A statement from the Presidency dated April 22 and signed by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, announced the development.

The committee is chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang of the Supreme Court, with members including Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, also of the Supreme Court; Daniel Yaw Domelevo, former Auditor-General; Major Flora Bazaanura Dalugo of the Ghana Armed Forces; and Professor James Sefah Dzisah, Associate Professor at the University of Ghana.