Read also:
- Beyoncé, Labubu and Sydney Sweeney’s jeans: 15 viral moments that defined 2025
- England win staggering two-day Test in Melbourne
- ‘We will vote but not with our hearts’: Inside the election staged by Myanmar’s military rulers
- Poland scrambles jets as Russia strikes Kyiv before US-Ukraine peace talks
- Thailand and Cambodia agree ceasefire after weeks of deadly clashes
El Samuels: MBN360 News
The Chair of Ghana’s Constitution Review Committee, Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, has emphasized the need for Ghanaians to let the people decide on the issue of presidential age limit, dismissing fears of “young presidents” as unfounded. The committee is reviewing the 1992 Constitution to address gaps and challenges in Ghana’s governance framework.
Prof Prempeh said Ghana’s own constitutional history shows that age limits have never been fixed or sacrosanct.
“The age issue is interesting. You look at our system demographically, we’ve had 35 years before in the 1960 Constitution, it was 35 years,” he said.
He pointed to parliamentary systems as the most useful comparison. “The most interesting comparison actually is with parliamentary systems,” he said.
According to him, those systems allow young people to exercise executive power once they meet basic parliamentary requirements.
“In parliamentary systems, anybody who can become an MP can become the Prime Minister,” he said.
Prof Prempeh recalled Ghana’s experience under the 1969 Constitution. “In 1969, the age was 21,” he said.
He noted that this allowed young leaders to hold high office. “President Kufuor was Deputy Foreign Minister at 20-something years,” he said.
He added that even though leaders were often older, the constitutional threshold was low. “Busia was above that age, but all he needed to be at that time was 21,” he said.
According to Prof Prempeh, Ghana has already lived under systems where very young people could exercise executive authority.
“We’ve had systems where effective executive power has been exercised by people who only had to be 21,” he said.
He stressed that lowering age barriers is about inclusion, not outcomes. “All we’re saying is that if you have a population that is largely youthful, you have to at least, even if it’s symbolic, signal that they are important,” he said.
Prof Prempeh rejected claims that this would automatically produce very young presidents. “It doesn’t mean that we are going to elect a 30-year-old to be president,” he said.
He said leadership choices would still depend on political parties and voters. “It depends if the party finds that this is the person we want to elect,” he said.
He also left room for independents. “Or if an independent candidate pops up at 30 who has accomplished and Ghanaians have trusted that person, why not?” he asked.
Prof Prempeh said democracy already has safeguards. “It takes at least, there’s a filter. There’s the election filter,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, the decision must rest with voters. “The citizens will make that decision,” Prof Prempeh said.
Prof. Prempeh’s comments come as the committee engages with stakeholders to solicit views on proposed amendments. The review aims to enhance democratic governance and address challenges identified in previous constitutional review processes.
The committee, appointed by former President John Mahama, includes experts such as Justice Sophia Adinyira, Prof. Kwame Karikari, and Charlotte Osei, among others. They are expected to present recommendations for constitutional amendments within six months.
