President John Mahama in an interaction with former President Kufour
A research fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr John Osae-Kwapong, has cautioned President John Dramani Mahama against allowing ongoing discussions about a possible third presidential term to overshadow an opportunity to build a legacy.
According to Dr Osae-Kwapong, if the argument for a third term is based on a president’s performance and ability to deliver good governance, then former President John Agyekum Kufuor would have qualified under the same reasoning and should have been allowed to extend his tenure.
Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV on Saturday, July 11, 2026, Dr Osae-Kwapong said President Mahama’s return to office after previous electoral defeats presented him with a unique opportunity for political redemption.
“I don’t think this is even the note on which he wants to end his redemption story of having lost two elections, come back, and being given the chance to leave us with a good legacy,” he said.
“So, no matter the temptations, let me end on this note,” citinewsroom.com quoted him to have said during the interview.
Dr Osae-Kwapong questioned why a president’s good performance should be used as a basis for seeking an extension of the constitutional limit.
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“If being a good president is the reason why we must ask the court to think about whether two terms actually mean two terms at different times or consecutively, then what should President Kufuor have done?” he asked.
He cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s tenure, arguing that despite receiving strong public approval ratings at the end of his second term, he did not seek to challenge the constitutional provision on presidential term limits.
“Because if you think of the state of the country in 2008, and if you think of the fact that in the history of Afrobarometer, no year has received such great ratings about governance and government performance, then President Kufuor could have easily said, ‘I’ve done a good job. Ghanaians have even said it. Let’s ask the courts to try and see if maybe two terms don’t mean, or if it means something else.’ But he didn’t.”
He added, “For me, the African problem is not one of how many years you get to serve in office, regardless of the good work or otherwise that you do,” he said.
“The term limit, for me, is a protection against allowing a good president to exit when the applause is loudest, but also allowing a bad president to exit so they do not cause any further injury to citizens.”
The discussion comes amid a case before the Supreme Court in which two citizens are seeking an interpretation of Article 66 of the 1992 Constitution, which states that a person shall not be elected President for more than two terms.
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