The government has announced its acceptance of a recommendation from the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to reduce the eligibility age for presidential candidates.

Currently, the 1992 Constitution sets the eligibility age at 40 years. The CRC had proposed lowering it to 30, but the government has opted for a compromise to set the minimum age to 35 years.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, during the Government Accountability Series on July 30, 2026, explained that while the administration supports broadening opportunities for younger leadership, it believes 35 years strikes a balance between youthful participation and maturity in governance.

“Still under the presidency, the committee recommended that the minimum age of eligibility for election as president be reduced from 40 years, currently in the Constitution, to 30 years. The government has accepted this recommendation in principle, subject to one modification,” Dr Ayine stated.

“The minimum age will be 35 years, not 30 years. And of course, the details of this will be fashioned out by the Constitutional Review Committee,” he added.

Meanwhile, the government has also accepted the CRC’s proposal to extend the tenure of the President and Parliament from four years to five years.

Dr Ayine stated that the current four‑year cycle leaves governments with limited time to deliver on their programmes, as transition and election activities consume much of the period.

“The government has accepted a recommendation to extend the term of office of the president from four years to five years, with the term of Parliament extended to correspond with this,” he said.

“A five‑year term provides a more realistic time frame for the formulation, implementation and assessment of government policy,” he noted.

Both reforms form part of the broader constitutional review process aimed at strengthening governance and ensuring more effective leadership.






VKB/VPO

Scenes from the funeral grounds of late Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka