By Issah Olegor
President John Dramani Mahama’s continued refusal to give a definitive and final answer on whether he would seek another term in office has plunged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) into a state of uncertainty, with senior party figures, potential flagbearers and grassroots organisers all recalibrating their plans amid fears of a looming constitutional showdown.
Although President Mahama has stated in public that he is not thinking about contesting beyond his current mandate, his carefully worded responses have failed to extinguish speculation within the party.
Instead, his silence at critical moments has created space for allies, critics and external actors to project their own political calculations onto the question of a possible third-term bid.
The uncertainty deepened after Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga publicly declared that he would support President Mahama if he chose to contest again.
Ayariga’s comments immediately altered the internal dynamics of the NDC, forcing several aspiring presidential candidates to pause and reassess their ambitions.
For many of them, the risk of openly campaigning while the party’s most dominant figure remains undecided is simply too high.
At the same time, attention has turned to the posture of the NDC’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah and the General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey who have all come out to shut down the third term maneuvering.
A seasoned political strategist and long-time power broker within the party, Asiedu Nketiah’s recent public appearances, subtle shifts in tone, and heightened visibility hasn’t given up as his dress code has changed and working behind the scenes, either as a contender or as a key kingmaker.
The situation was further muddied by the circulation of a fake letter falsely attributed to him, warning party members that President Mahama would not seek another term.
Though the party quickly dismissed the document as a forgery, its impact exposed the depth of anxiety within the NDC.
But the General Secretary was categorical- there won’t be a third-term agenda for President Mahama, stressing the NDC commitment to Ghana’s constitutional order.
Speaking on the matter on Channel One TV’s Face to Face program on Tuesday, Kwetey, said the party would not support any attempt to alter the Constitution to extend presidential tenure, regardless of its parliamentary strength.
He described Ghana as a leading example of democratic transition in sub-Saharan Africa, noting that the country’s respect for constitutional limits has continued to inspire other democracies across the region.
“First and foremost, you must appreciate that all over sub-Saharan Africa, if there is one country that has been able to provide the model that continues to be an inspiration in terms of democratic transition, it is Ghana,” he stated.
Sources within the party say the confusion has left other prominent figures in limbo, including Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and party stalwarts such as Joshua Alabi, Agric Minister, Eric Opoku, Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah and former BOST Managing Director, Kwame Awuah-Darko.
None has made an unambiguous move toward a formal 2028 bid, largely because of uncertainty over whether President Mahama might yet re-enter the race as some are pushing for it.
Complicating matters further are claims that influential religious leaders are quietly encouraging President Mahama to reconsider his public stance.
Party insiders says that some prominent pastors, operating through a WhatsApp platform, are actively pushing the narrative that Mahama is divinely destined to lead again.
These pastors have reportedly used sermons, prophecies and media appearances to keep the idea alive, raising expectations that a dramatic political signal could emerge around December 31—a date historically associated with major political declarations in Ghana.
Despite these pressures, constitutional barriers remain central to the debate. Ghana’s 1992 Constitution explicitly limits a president to two terms.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee, Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh and several legal scholars have reaffirmed that position, insisting the two-term limit is explicit as stated in the constitution.
Within the NDC itself, some senior figures acknowledge that the only viable route would be to “test the law” at the Supreme Court which is already packed with ‘lackeys’.
This possibility has already sparked intense political confrontation in Parliament. Minority MPs from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have repeatedly accused the NDC government of harbouring a hidden agenda to alter constitutional term limits.
The accusations reached a boiling point during proceedings over the Kpandai parliamentary seat, when NPP MPs waved placards and chanted “Mahama No Third Term” in the chamber.
They linked their claims to the recent expansion of the Supreme Court bench, alleging that the government was positioning itself to influence future constitutional rulings.
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has strongly rejected these accusations, describing them as unfounded and dangerous.
Speaking on the AM Show on Joy News, he insisted that President Mahama has not expressed any desire to seek a third term and warned that persistent public speculation could inadvertently plant the very idea critics claim to oppose.
“As for the question of John Mahama wanting to do a third term, he hasn’t said so,” Ayariga stressed. “The man has said he is not thinking about it. Why are you putting the idea in his head?”
Ayariga further noted that if any individual or group chooses to seek constitutional interpretation, they are entitled to do so under the law.
However, he emphasised that even a favourable Supreme Court ruling would not automatically settle the matter.
Legal experts agree. They argue that any reinterpretation of the two-term limit could trigger a prolonged process involving the Council of State, Parliament and, ultimately, a national referendum requiring at least 70 percent approval from voters. Such a threshold, analysts say, would be extraordinarily difficult to achieve in the deeply polarised political environment.
Interestingly, Prof Kwesi Yankah, a former Minister of State for Tertiary Education as well as former Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana in an article adding his voice said “say the “comedy” of a third term is as much about perception as reality. It combines Mahama’s measured ambiguity, parliament’s strategic maneuvering, the NDC’s internal succession uncertainties, and the performative interventions of religious actors”.
According to him “The theatre is heightened by claims of economic miracles, falling commodity prices, and celebratory propaganda intended to bolster Mahama’s appeal”.
He argues that these narratives often overlook historical parallels: former President Nana Akufo-Addo was similarly lauded by international bodies in his early tenure, yet no constitutional alterations ensued.
Meanwhile, the prolonged ambiguity is already reshaping the NDC’s succession debate.
For now, the President’s unpredictability—whether strategic or genuine—has effectively frozen the field.
