Term Limits Debate May Improve Leadership Quality

Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, Kwame Asare Obeng, popularly known as A Plus, believes a national discussion on presidential term limits could incentivize better performance from political leaders.

A Plus recently advocated for a third-term presidency for former President John Dramani Mahama, arguing that Ghana’s development requires a re-evaluation of the current constitutional limits.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Wednesday, December 17, the lawmaker emphasized that the Constitution provides a clear process for amending term limits. He suggested that even considering such reforms could positively influence governance.

“The law says that if you want to remove term limit from the constitution, this is how to go about it. I believe that that conversation alone will get John Mahama to do more than he is doing now,” he stated.

A Plus further questioned whether former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s approach to governance would have differed had he been eligible for a third term.

“If Akufo-Addo knew that he could have a third term, do you think he would have done the things that he did?” he asked.

He argued that widespread public dissatisfaction would have prevented Akufo-Addo from winning another election, regardless of any constitutional changes. “If Akufo-Addo had contested in the 2024 election with the same performance, he would have gotten about 10 per cent of the vote. There is no way Akufo-Addo would have won,” A Plus asserted.

According to the Gomoa Central MP, Ghana’s electorate has consistently demonstrated its willingness to vote out underperforming leaders. “Ghanaians would have voted against him, and we have shown clearly that if Ghanaians don’t like you, they don’t like you. So term limit wouldn’t do anything for anybody,” he explained.

A Plus maintained that the Constitution outlines a legal pathway for amending entrenched provisions like term limits, and that these processes could be initiated if there is sufficient public and political will. “If we have to test the law, the law is the law. Sometimes we can do it because we want to do it. The law says that if you want to change an entrenched constitution, this is how to go about it. You can test it. It will go down in history,” he added.

Image Source: MYJOYONLINE