In a significant development, the government has embraced a pivotal recommendation from the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to extend the presidential and parliamentary terms from four to five years, as disclosed by Attorney General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine.
While presenting the government’s White Paper on the CRC’s recommendations, Dr Ayine emphasised that this proposal aims to give administrations ample time to implement and assess their policies before seeking re-election. “The government has accepted the recommendation to lengthen the presidential term to five years, with Parliament’s term adjusted accordingly,” he stated.
Dr Ayine noted that the current four-year electoral cycle limits governments’ ability to effectively deliver on their programs, as both the onset and conclusion of each administration are heavily influenced by transitional and election-related dynamics. “Our approach is pragmatic. Each administration’s early months are primarily occupied with transition issues, while the concluding year is primarily focused on elections,” he explained.
He further elaborated that adopting a five-year term would facilitate a more feasible timeline for governance and policy implementation. “A five-year term allows for a more realistic framework for formulating, executing, and evaluating government policies,” he asserted.
Additionally, Dr Ayine announced that the government has, in principle, accepted the CRC’s recommendation to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates, albeit with a modification. While the committee proposed an eligibility age reduction from the current 40 years to 30 years, the government has decided on a minimum age of 35 years.
“Under the presidency, the committee’s suggestion was to decrease the age of eligibility for presidential election from 40 to 30 years. The government has agreed to this recommendation in principle, with one key change,” he noted. “The minimum age will be set at 35 years, rather than 30. The finer details will be determined during the Constitutional Review process.”
