Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim has called for a national dialogue on Ghana’s presidential term limits, describing the current four-year mandate as “wholly insufficient” for any government to deliver sustainable development and transformative change.
According to Ms. Muslim, the short political cycle not only fuels instability but also promotes wasteful spending on frequent elections and disrupts long-term national planning.
“It is true that the four-year term is wholly insufficient if we are truly to change the path and trajectory of our development. Expensive elections that begin and start upon the end of another election don’t look like a practical way of managing very scarce resources,” she said in an interview with TV3.
She explained that Ghana’s governance system leaves limited time for effective leadership, as administrations spend much of their tenure on appointments and election preparations.
“Year one is literally spent making appointments. By year two, even in year one, people are already talking about who leads which political party and who takes over from which political party,” Ms. Muslim noted, adding that frequent elections drain resources that could otherwise be channelled into development priorities.
Acknowledging concerns about potential abuse of power, she suggested constitutional reforms that could balance continuity with accountability.
“Even if we do not want to extend the term limits, we must look at the possibility of allowing multiple terms for political party candidates. Once a political party elects someone to lead, that person should be able to go more than two terms if the people themselves see that we are on a certain transformative path that requires continuation.”
She stressed that voter power would remain the ultimate safeguard against poor leadership.
“If we have a bad president, we are not stuck with them. You simply don’t vote for that person for a second term. But if a political party feels it has a long-term plan depending on its performance, the mentality towards development will be different from one that feels it has so limited a time,” Ms. Muslim said.
She further proposed that allowing political parties the flexibility to retain high-performing leaders could enhance policy continuity and strengthen accountability.
“Allow the parties to decide who they want to lead them, even beyond a two-term limit. If a party decides to vote someone for three terms because that person’s vision is delivering results, let them. Then the nation goes into an election to decide if it still wants this party or not,” she added.
Ms. Muslim suggested that such an arrangement could provide governments with a 12- to 15-year window to pursue consistent development policies, but cautioned that longer terms do not automatically guarantee better leadership.
“It is true that longevity doesn’t always guarantee good leadership. In that case, it is the people who will make the difference. Citizens must assert their right to choice and push for the necessary reforms when leadership goes off track,” she said.
Ms. Muslim urged policymakers to leverage the ongoing constitutional review process to rethink Ghana’s governance framework for long-term national progress.
“Possibly, the Constitutional Review Committee will give us what we need to have this conversation because it would be detrimental to the country if we don’t.”
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