Assault on African presidential term limits continues

THE assault on presidential term limits in Africa continued last year with several presidents who had been in office for at least ten years or for more than two terms seeking to continue in power.

Included was President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda who succeeded in obtaining a fifth term. This will increase his reign to 35 years by 2020.

In Gambia President Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jammeh lost to Adama Barrow in December. He conceded defeat but made a U-turn a week later, taking legal action to attempt to roll back his two term limit.

This has sparked a regional crisis. Nigerian MPs this week voted to offer Jammeh asylum if he agrees to step down. If he does not Aljazeera reports that Gambia faces not only possible violence, but months of political deadlock as the country lacks supreme court judges to handle the case.

Meanwhile in the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Joseph Kabila also attempted to stand for a third term last year despite the DRC’s 2006 constitution which ended his tenure on December 30.

But the elections scheduled for November could not take place because violent opposition erupted in response to Kabila’s candidature.

He backed down to pressure and has agreed to abide by a peace settlement mediated by the country’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference in late December. It provides for a “national transition council” to be in place by March to carry out the agreement and for Kabila to step down after elections which must be held before the end of this year.

Analysts say it is not yet clear whether the agreement will ease the volatility still present.

There was good news from Ghana where a largely peaceful election resulted in a change of power with opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo triumphing in his third bid for the presidency. Importantly the incumbent President John Mahama accepted the result and immediately congratulated his opponent to dispel any chance of unrest.

This year Burundi will remain a focus. It has been in crisis since April 2015 when the ruling party announced that President Pierre Nkurunziza would stand for yet another term.

Thousands of people have been killed while violence continues to flare and an estimated 260 000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring countries and the campaign to “Halt to the third term of Pierre Nkurunziza” continues.

Rwanda will also be in the spotlight this year when President Paul Kagame runs for another term after a referendum in December 2015 extended Rwanda’s presidential term limits, potentially clearing the path for him to lead the country until 2034.

The introduction of term limits for presidents in Africa began in the early 1990s after some first wave post-independence leaders sought to cling to power.

Analysts say out of the 48 new constitutions enacted in the 1990s, 33 stipulated term limits for the office of the president, mostly for a maximum of two terms.

But after 1998 at least 30 countries have contemplated the removal of these limits. In most cases this involved the incumbents who, after serving two terms, tried to amend the constitution to make themselves eligible for re-election. — DDR