Supreme Court nominee Justice Senyo Dzamefe on Monday voiced unequivocal support for Ghana’s two-term constitutional limit on the presidency, offering a clear endorsement of the 1992 Constitution’s provisions at a time of escalating political debate over presidential tenure.

Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on June 16, Justice Dzamefe was pressed by Suame MP John Darko on whether Article 66(2) of the Constitution—which restricts any individual to two terms as President—is open to reinterpretation.

“Mr. Chairman, the honourable member referred to the constitution, and that is what the constitution says,” Dzamefe said. “So I can’t have anything against what is in the constitution.”

His remarks come amid mounting controversy following allegations by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin that President John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) are laying the groundwork for an unprecedented third term in office.

In a May 1 interview, Afenyo-Markin characterized the president’s recent wave of judicial appointments as part of a broader political strategy. “It is obvious that the bold attempts by the president to nominate, out of the blue, seven judges to the Supreme Court are the first major step in a third-term agenda,” he said. “All that the NDC is doing is through the advice of the hawks of the NDC to set a third-term agenda for its leadership.”

President Mahama, who previously served two terms from 2012 to 2017 and was re-elected in 2024, has not directly addressed the accusations. On April 30, he nominated seven justices from the Court of Appeal for elevation to the Supreme Court under Article 144(2), a constitutional provision that empowers the president to fill vacancies on the bench with the advice of the Judicial

Source:TheDotNews