NPP Rejects Five-Year Presidential Term, Demands Constituent Assembly for Constitutional Reforms ‎

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has formally rejected the government's proposal to extend Ghana's presidential and parliamentary term from four to five years, and is instead demanding that any constitutional overhaul be driven through a broader Constituent Assembly rather than the government-appointed implementation body currently in charge of the process.

The dispute traces back to Ghana's ongoing constitutional review process. The Constitution Review Committee (CRC), chaired by Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, submitted its report titled "Transforming from Electoral Democracy to a Developmental Democracy" to President John Dramani Mahama in February 2026.

Among its recommendations were a five-year presidential and parliamentary term (up from four), direct election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), an increase in Parliament's size from 275 to 300 members, and a reduction in the minimum age for presidential candidates.

On July 30, 2026, Attorney-General Dominic Ayine announced the government had accepted the five-year term proposal, arguing that Ghana's current four-year cycle leaves administrations with barely two effective years of governing time once transition and election periods are subtracted, and adopted 35 rather than the CRC's recommended 30 as the new minimum presidential age.

The NPP's Constitutional and Legal Affairs Policy Committee subsequently conducted its own review of both the CRC report and the government's position, submitting a position paper to presidential candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the party's National Executive Committee for approval.

Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, a member of Parliament's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said the party felt compelled to stake out its own position because it was unclear whether the government's proposals genuinely reflected what the NPP had submitted during the CRC's consultations.

Central to the NPP's objection is the composition and control of the Constitution Review Implementation Committee (CRIC), the 11-member body inaugurated on August 28, 2026 to translate the CRC's recommendations into legislative and constitutional amendments.

Chaired by Presidential Legal Counsel Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew, with Oliver Barker-Vormawor as secretary, the CRIC has drawn NPP criticism over fears that the referendum campaign process could be "circumscribed" in Awuah's words and "restricted to groups of persons nominated by the ruling party."

That concern appears to underpin the party's demand for a Constituent Assembly: a broader, more independent forum for negotiating reforms rather than one shaped primarily by the sitting government.

Ofoase Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a member of the NPP's Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, has been among the party's most vocal figures on the process, having earlier accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of seeking to manufacture an overwhelming parliamentary majority to push amendments through unilaterally.

The NPP's formal position paper expected to spell out in full which proposals it supports, rejects, or wants modified is due before the end of 2026, according to Awuah, with the party signaling it intends to campaign independently on its position ahead of a national referendum tentatively planned for 2027.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. ( USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources: MyJoyOnline; Citinewsroom; Ghanaian Times; EWN