Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has dismissed accusations by the Minority that President John Dramani Mahama is seeking a third term in office, describing the claim as baseless and potentially harmful to national discourse.
Speaking on the AM show on Wednesday, Mahama Ayariga said the Minority’s repeated claims could unintentionally plant the very idea they are warning against.
“As for the question of John Mahama wanting to do a third term — which he hasn’t said he wants to do — that’s the funny thing,” he said.
“The man has said he is not thinking about it. Why are you putting the idea in his head?”
He warned that persistent speculation could embolden some voices within the NDC to start considering the idea even though the party has made no such proposal.
“It is dangerous for you to keep pushing it in their head,” he argued.
“The more you discuss it, the more maybe some NDC members may come out and say, perhaps, it is an idea worth considering — given that we have the capacity to do it.”
Mahama Ayariga stressed that President Mahama has already spoken clearly about the matter and that any further debate should be based on actual proposals, not conjecture.
“Third term? Until I see a proposal and understand the basis for it, I will keep quiet,” he said.
He added that the matter ultimately rests with the courts, should anyone decide to seek interpretation.
“If somebody decides to go to court to test it, he is perfectly within his or her right,” he said.
“If the court interprets the Constitution in a way that allows him to run again, at the end of the day, it is the Ghanaian electorate who will decide.”
Mahama Ayariga’s comments follow dramatic scenes in Parliament on Tuesday evening, when NPP MPs chanted “Mahama No Third Term” while waving placards during heated exchanges over the Kpandai parliamentary seat.
The protest erupted after the Minority accused the government of engineering constitutional changes by first securing an overwhelming majority in Parliament.
Their allegations were linked to a December 4 letter from the Clerk to Parliament, informing the Electoral Commission of a vacancy in Kpandai after a High Court ruling. Minority MPs have insisted the letter was improper and violated parliamentary procedure.
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