Supreme Court must dismiss presidential term limit suit outright — Prof Prempeh

The Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit seeking an interpretation of Ghana’s presidential term limit provision.

The suit was filed by Ghanaian lawyer and news editor Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie, popularly known as Ken Kuranchie, who is asking the apex court to determine whether the two-term limit under Article 66(2) of the 1992 Constitution applies only to consecutive terms.

The case, filed on June 30 against Attorney-General Dominic Ayine, seeks clarity on whether a break between elected presidential terms resets a person's eligibility to contest for the presidency again.

Reacting to the development in a social media post on Friday, July 10, Prof Prempeh, who chaired the Constitutional Review Committee, argued that the court’s jurisdiction had not been properly triggered because there was no actual dispute requiring constitutional interpretation.

“The Supreme Court must dismiss the lawsuit outright—with costs! There is no CASE for the Court to adjudicate or decide here," the post read in part.

According to Prof Prempeh, the Supreme Court’s constitutional mandate is not intended to address hypothetical questions or provide advisory opinions on issues that have not resulted in an actual legal controversy.

He said no individual or group had taken any action that challenged the established interpretation of Article 66(2), which limits a person from serving more than two terms as President of Ghana.

“The Supreme Court is not there to issue advisory opinions or answer potential law school exam questions. The Court's jurisdiction is not properly triggered here," he argued.

Prof Prempeh cautioned the court against accepting every constitutional question presented as a lawsuit, insisting that its role must remain focused on resolving genuine disputes brought before it.