Constitutional term limits
Several presidents in Africa are seeking to stay in power by abolishing constitutional term limits
When democracy swept across Africa in the 1990s, optimism spread that the era of “Big Man” politics had ended. It no longer seemed plausible that a president could stay in office indefinitely. Multi-party elections had arrived and soon became commonplace. Surely, elections and genuine democracy would prove to be the long-overdue antidote to power-hungry presidents hell-bent on staying in office, no matter the cost. Unfortunately, two and a half decades later, the reality has not lived up to this dream. Elections are still commonplace, but the playbook of the “Big Men” of the one-party state era has simply been replaced by a similar script now couched in lofty references to democracy, electoral legitimacy and multi-party competition. Regrettably, the language is often rhetoric and little more. This has become blatantly obvious as several African countries yet again confront the seemingly exorcised demons of unending single-party rule. In Burkina Faso last year, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Togo this year, elected presidents have sought to stay in office beyond their allotted mandate by abolishing constitutional term limits—democratic checks put in place deliberately to avoid the unending rule of one person over a country.
Blaise Campaoré’s ill-fated attempt to extend his 27-year reign in Burkina Faso prompted volatility, protests, and ultimately, his ouster. Those calling for the removal of constitutional term limits cited stability and continuity as a key justification to prolong the reign of “Beau Blaise”. But the opposite occurred and the military took over. Africans are finally standing up to this procedural manipulation that allows strongmen to continue the lengthy political dominance characteristic of one-party rule rather than multi-party political competition. This is quickly becoming clear to the presidents of the DRC and Togo. Togo’s election was due to take place on April 25th, as this magazine went to press; the DRC vote is tentatively slated for November 27th 2016. In early 2015, rumours swirled that Joseph Kabila, DRC’s president, intended to remove the country’s term limits and run again, even though his second and last constitutionally mandated term ends in 2016. This incited protests, which spread from the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, to other parts of the country. In mid-March the government began to crack down on the pro-term limits movement.
When a non-profit youth group held a press conference that was tangentially related to Mr Kabila’s possible effort to repeal term limits, Congolese authorities arrested dozens of activists, several journalists, and even an American diplomat—risking a high-profile diplomatic standoff . Even though the official was soon released, the government’s signal was clear: Mr Kabila views any attempt to oppose procedural changes as an attack on his authority. A government spokesman justified the arrests by claiming that the press conference was actually an appeal for insurrection. The youth group’s political dissent marked them as traitors, he claimed. Although the DRC’s term-limit debate has changed, foreign governments and international organisations still have time to pressure Mr Kabila to respect the constitution. Togo is also embroiled in widespread protests and political intrigue over term limits. But in this country’s case, the proposed change runs in the opposite direction. Protesters are demanding term limits, which currently do not exist in this tiny west African nation. They want to bar Faure Gnassingbé from running for a third presidential term.
The president’s family has been in charge of this narrow country sandwiched between Benin and Ghana since 1967. Mr Gnassingbé came to power shortly after his father’s death in a palace coup and a subsequent election, which the international community condemned. Togo is notorious for violent elections. Instituting term limits and opening the political space to figures outside the family dynasty would be a step in the right direction. Imposing term limits to restrain tyranny is an idea as old as democracy itself. Peisistratos, a master of ancient Athens, was the first recognised tyrant—beguiling the lower classes into supporting him with one of the earliest forms of populism. This strategy allowed him to reign for nearly 34 years. The democracies of Athens and Rome instituted term limits to contain the likelihood of tyranny and allow good leaders to rotate new blood into power. According to Afrobarometer public opinion surveys conducted in 35 countries between 2011 and September 2013, 74% of Africans (including those in north Africa) do not support presidents serving more than two consecutive terms.
In other words, three out of four people across the continent recognise the value of rotating leadership backed by constitutional constraints. But three out of four Africans may be disappointed if power hungry presidents continue to press for “reforms” to term-limit legislation (or oppose its introduction if not already in place). Submissive parliaments across the continent are too often accomplices in this subversion of a baseline democratic constraint. The demise of Mr Campaoré’s regime in Burkina Faso is proof that the scales are tipping in favour of those who support term limits, at least in some places. There is no guarantee, however, that they will win their battle to uphold or impose constitutional term limits. Although the protests are sometimes violent and destabilising, they are sending a clear signal: Africans are no longer willing to accept the façade of multi-party competition that manages to tighten and prolong the incumbent regime’s grip on power. Other glimmers of hope can be found in the recent awarding of the Mo Ibrahim prize, an honour reserved for heads of state who govern well, raise living standards and then leave office when their terms end.
In early March, Hifi kepunye Pohamba, president of Namibia, accepted the $5m prize. It is telling that the prize has been conferred only three times in the last eight years because no other African leaders were deemed suitable. In the development of Athenian democracy, the demise of the tyranny of Peisistratos and his immediate successors ushered in a resurgence of democratic reforms that limited the concentration of power in any one person. We can only hope that Africans across the continent, like Athenians 2,500 years ago, forge strong term limits that cannot be bent or broken.
