By MAKKINN NEWS
Accra, July 30, 2026


The Government of Ghana has formally accepted a wide range of recommendations from the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), unveiling its official White Paper on the report on Thursday. Presenting the government's response, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr. Dominic Ayine set out a series of proposed constitutional amendments touching the presidency, Parliament, the electoral calendar, and the machinery of the executive — changes that, if passed, would represent Ghana's most significant constitutional overhaul since the beginning of the Fourth Republic.
The CRC, chaired by constitutional law scholar Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, submitted its final report to President John Dramani Mahama on December 22, 2025, following nationwide consultations. Cabinet held three separate sessions reviewing the report's recommendations before settling on the government's position, which Dr. Ayine presented in full on Thursday.
Among the most consequential proposals accepted is an extension of the presidential and parliamentary term from four years to five. Dr. Ayine said the change is intended to give administrations a longer runway to implement policy before facing re-election. The government also accepted a related recommendation to lower the minimum eligible age to contest the presidency from 40 to 35. Government Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu moved quickly to clarify that neither change would apply to the sitting president, stressing that the amendment is prospective and not designed to benefit the incumbent.
On the electoral calendar, the government accepted a proposal to fix presidential elections within the first week of November, with the exact date to be specified by the Electoral Commission through constitutional instrument. Dr. Ayine argued that a fixed window gives the Commission, political parties, and observers greater certainty for planning, and ensures an adequate interval between the election and the president's inauguration on January 7.
The White Paper also accepts new constitutional timelines for resolving presidential election disputes. Under the proposed amendments, a petition challenging a presidential election result must be filed within 14 days of the declaration of results and determined by the Supreme Court within 30 days. The government further accepted a proposal placing a constitutional duty on the Electoral Commission to disclose all relevant election data to the courts and to parties involved in any dispute — a measure Dr. Ayine said is meant to protect the stability of the country's democratic transitions.
On the size and structure of government, the administration accepted a proposal to cap the membership of Parliament at 300.

The current 276 constituency-based seats would be retained, with an additional 24 seats introduced through a proportional representation system reserved for women, persons with disabilities, and the youth. Dr. Ayine said an independent study would be commissioned to design the proportional representation mechanism, describing the reform as one that both saves cost and widens access to the legislature for groups historically underrepresented in it.
The government also accepted a cap on the size of the executive, though it settled on a higher ceiling than the CRC had recommended. Where the Committee proposed limiting the Cabinet to 57 ministers, the government's White Paper sets the constitutional cap at 60. The proposed amendment would also remove the requirement that presidents draw the majority of their ministers from sitting Members of Parliament, giving future heads of state greater flexibility in constructing their cabinets.
The White Paper additionally accepts the separation of the Attorney-General's office from the Ministry of Justice — a structural change long advocated by governance reform groups, who argue that combining the two roles creates a conflict between the Attorney-General's prosecutorial independence and the Minister of Justice's position within the political executive.
Each of the accepted proposals will require formal constitutional amendment before taking effect, a process that involves parliamentary approval and, for entrenched provisions, a national referendum. Civil society groups, including the Citizens' Platform on Constitutional Reforms and the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, have previously called on government to publish both the White Paper and the CRC's full report and to set a clear implementation timeline, warning that past constitutional review efforts lost momentum after their formal proposals stage.
With the government's position now public, attention turns to Parliament, where the proposed amendments will need to be debated and, in most cases, passed by the required two-thirds majority before being put to a national referendum.
Sources: Rainbow Radio Online, Adomonline.com, Ghanaian Times, Ghanaian News Canada, Graphic Online, ConstitutionNet