Parties should be allowed to remove non-performing presidents midterm – Kpebu

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has called for a constitutional amendment to allow political parties to remove non-performing presidents before the end of their four-year terms.

He argued that Ghana should focus on creating a system that allows parties to replace ineffective presidents rather than extending the presidential term from four to five years.

His comments come amid renewed debate over a proposal by the Constitutional Review Committee to extend the presidential term, which former President John Agyekum Kufuor has publicly supported.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3’s Ghana Tonight programme on Wednesday, October 28, Mr Kpebu said extending the presidential term would not necessarily improve governance.

He proposed that the party that wins a presidential election should be allowed to recall its president and nominate a replacement if the leader fails to meet expectations.

“The party that has won power, that the president comes from a certain party, it should be easier for them to take him off and bring a new person as long as it’s within the four years,” he said.

Mr Kpebu argued that such an arrangement would enable political parties to respond more quickly to poor leadership without requiring the country to hold another general election, which he said would impose additional financial costs.

He cited the United Kingdom’s parliamentary system, where governing parties can replace their leaders without holding a general election, as an example Ghana could learn from.

According to him, Ghana operates a hybrid constitutional system that combines elements of presidential and parliamentary governance, making it possible to consider adopting aspects of the parliamentary system.

He maintained that the country should retain its presidential system but amend the Constitution to make it easier for governing parties to replace presidents who are not performing well.

“We should be striving for that, not increasing the number of years for one man,” he said.