Cabinet begins final review of proposals for 1992 Constitution amendments

Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has disclosed that Cabinet is currently conducting its third and final review of proposals for amendments to the 1992 Constitution.

The proposals are based on recommendations submitted by the Constitutional Review Committee.

Key highlights of proposed amendments in 1992 Constitutional Review Committee report

“Third and final Cabinet Session on Government Position Paper on Constitutional Review proposals underway,” Kwakye Ofosu posted on X on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.

This follows earlier reviews by Cabinet of the recommendations submitted by Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh and members of his committee after extensive consultations and engagements with Ghanaians on the Constitution.

Earlier, the government had indicated that after completing work on its position paper, the document would be forwarded to the Attorney General and government legal advisers for further review and consolidation.

Additionally, once the document is finalised, it will be submitted, together with the Constitutional Review Committee's report, to the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee to begin the implementation process.

Background

The Constitutional Review Committee presented its report to President John Dramani Mahama after months of engagement with the Ghanaian public and key stakeholders.

The committee, chaired by Professor Kwasi Prempeh, has proposed a number of amendments to Ghana’s 1992 Constitution aimed at strengthening governance, promoting citizen participation, and addressing key national issues.

Here are some key highlights from the committee’s report;

Five-year presidential term

One of the key proposals from the committee is the extension of Ghana’s presidential term from four to five years. The committee argued that the current tenure does not allow sufficient time for governments to effectively implement policies, emphasising that the proposal is intended to enhance governance efficiency and deliberately excludes any provision for a third term.

Cap on ministerial appointments

The committee also proposed the imposition of strict limits on the size of government, recommending amendments to Article 78(2) to significantly reduce its size. Under the proposal, the total number of Ministers of State, including Deputy Ministers and Regional Ministers, would not exceed three times the number of Cabinet Ministers. With the Constitution already capping Cabinet Ministers at 19 under Article 76(1), the total number of ministers across all categories would therefore be limited to 57.

An end to MP-to-minister appointments

The committee has proposed an amendment to Article 78(1) would prohibit any sitting Member of Parliament from being appointed as a Minister of State, Deputy Minister, or Regional Minister. The committee further proposed that any Member of Parliament who resigns from Parliament would be ineligible for ministerial appointment, with the restriction applying only for the remainder of the parliamentary term for which the individual was elected.

Reduce presidential age limit from 40 to 30 years

Another recommendation involves reducing the minimum age required to contest the presidency from 40 years to 30 years. The committee argued that amending Article 62(b) of the Constitution to allow younger citizens to contest the highest political office in the country would remove age-based barriers that limit access to leadership opportunities.

Here is when government will finalise constitutional review position paper

Cap on Supreme Court judges

The committee proposed that the Supreme Court should be composed of the Chief Justice and no more than 14 other justices, totaling 15. This would require an amendment to Article 128(1) of the 1992 Constitution to formally set an upper limit on the size of the Supreme Court. This is however aimed at streamlining the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in order to reduce its workload and improve efficiency in the administration of justice.

Third and final Cabinet Session on Government Position Paper on Constitutional Review proposals underway.

— Felix Kwakye Ofosu (@FelixKwakyeOfo1) July 14, 2026