Majority Leader refuses to rule out Mahama third term

Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, says he would support the ruling National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) decision if they chose to pursue a third term for President John Dramani Mahama.

In an interview on Joy News, Ayariga explained that he will abide by his party’s decision if that conclusion is ever reached.

“If my party [NDC] takes a decision that it is something they want to pursue, if I have an opposition to it and internally I am unable to convince them about my side of the argument and they convince me about their side, in my position as Leader of Government Business, I’ll be obliged to pursue it.”

He also accused the ruling NPP of spreading rumors that Mahama is seeking a third term, a claim the former president has repeatedly denied.

President John Dramani Mahama has clearly stated that he will not run for a third term in the 2028 elections. He has cited constitutional limits and a desire to maintain fiscal discipline as reasons for his decision, emphasizing that this restraint allows him to avoid election-year overspending.

“I will not be a candidate in the next elections and therefore I can hold the line when it comes to fiscal discipline,” Mahama said, reaffirming his commitment to stepping down after his current term.

NDC’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has also ruled out support for a third-term bid by the incumbent president.

In August, he stressed that the governing party had no interest in breaching the constitutional term limits.

“We have never run our party in a way that conflicts with the national constitution and we don’t intend to do that. We will stick to the tenets of the Constitution,” he was quoted as saying.

It should be noted that several constitutional scholars have pointed that the president will be ineligible in the 2028 elections.

The 1992 Constitution permits an individual to serve not more than two terms as president of the Republic.