The government has endorsed a proposal by the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 35 years, describing it as part of broader constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening Ghana's democracy.

Presenting the government's response to the Constitutional Review Committee's recommendations at a press conference at the Jubilee House in Accra on Thursday, July 30, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, announced that the government had accepted the recommendation in principle, but with a modification.

While the committee proposed reducing the eligibility age from the current 40 years to 30 years, the government opted for a minimum age of 35 years.

“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.

“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,” Dr Ayine said.

According to the Attorney-General, the proposal forms part of a broader package of constitutional amendments that were extensively reviewed by Cabinet before the government announced its position.

He explained that the committee's recommendations had been thoroughly considered by Cabinet on three occasions, stressing that the review process was deliberate, constitutional and transparent.

“The recommendations of the CRC were carefully considered by Cabinet on three occasions, including the dedication of an entire weekend retreat presided over by the President of the Republic.

“Government examined each of the committee’s 206 proposed constitutional amendments against the provisions of the 1992 Constitution to determine their scope, implications and whether the objectives could be achieved through constitutional amendments or through ordinary legislation and administrative action,” he stated.

Dr Ayine further clarified that the document presented by the government should not be regarded as a white paper but rather as the government's official position on the committee's recommendations.

“This is not a government white paper. The government’s response represents its considered position on the recommendations submitted by the Constitutional Review Committee,” he explained.

The recommendation to lower the presidential age requirement forms part of the Constitutional Review Committee's proposals aimed at amending aspects of the 1992 Constitution. Although the government has accepted the proposal in principle, it will still have to go through the constitutional amendment process before it can take effect.

Constitutional Review process

Ghana's constitutional review process began in January 2010 under President John Evans Atta Mills, when a nine-member Constitutional Review Commission chaired by Professor Albert Fiadjoe was inaugurated to examine the 1992 Constitution and recommend reforms.

The commission submitted its report in 2011, after which the government issued a white paper in June 2012, accepting some recommendations, rejecting others and deferring several for further consideration.

The review process later stalled before being revived in January 2025, when President John Mahama appointed a new eight-member Constitutional Review Committee chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh to continue the exercise.

The committee submitted its report to the President and, on February 10, 2026, presented its final report titled Transforming Ghana – From Electoral Democracy to Developmental Democracy, containing 206 proposed constitutional amendments, including the recommendation to reduce the minimum age for presidential candidates.