A Ghanaian citizen has filed a writ at the Supreme Court in Accra seeking a declaration that a person who has served two separate, non-consecutive terms as President remains eligible to contest the presidency again.
The suit was filed on July 9, 2026, by Ganiwu Alhassan, a teacher from Kpandai in the Northern Region, against the Attorney-General. It was lodged by his solicitor, Kwasi Afrifa Esq of O & A Legal Consult in Kumasi, and is dated June 26, 2026.
At the heart of the case is Article 66(2) of the 1992 Constitution, which states that a person shall not be elected to hold the office of President for more than two terms.
Alhassan’s writ argues that this provision, properly interpreted, only bars someone from serving two consecutive terms and does not disqualify a person who has served two separate and distinct, non-consecutive terms from contesting the presidency again.
The plaintiff is asking the court to declare that any attempt to prevent such a person from contesting the presidency would be inconsistent with, and in contravention of, the Constitution.
Bringing the action in his capacity as a citizen under the Constitution’s enforcement provisions, Alhassan’s statement of case draws on the Preamble and several constitutional articles, including those on presidential succession where a Vice President completes an unexpired term.
His lawyers argue that because the Constitution does not treat a partial or interrupted term as an automatic bar to serving two full terms, this shows the two-term limit was not intended to be an absolute lifetime cap for someone whose service was similarly non-continuous.
The 34-page filing marshals an extensive array of precedent, including the landmark cases Tuffuor v Attorney-General, New Patriotic Party v Attorney-General, Sam v Attorney-General, and Nartey v Attorney-General, alongside citations from Black’s Law Dictionary and appeals to what the filing describes as the “letter and spirit” of the Constitution as a living document meant to be interpreted broadly rather than strictly.
The writ commands the Attorney-General to file a statement of defense within fourteen days of service. No writ number had yet been assigned at the time of filing, and the matter is now before the Supreme Court of Ghana for determination.
President John Dramani Mahama, who is serving a second term separated by former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s eight-year tenure, has on several occasions stated that he has no intention of amending the Constitution to seek a third term in office.
In August 2025, President Mahama reiterated in Singapore that he had no plans to pursue a third term as President.
