Presidential monarchies

Editorial

Proceedings at the recent extraordinary session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament hit a storm when the issue of term limits for leaders of the sub-region popped up. Reports said the session’s opening in Banjul, The Gambia, momentarily turned rowdy as the Speaker, Moustapha Cissé-Lo, delivered his speech.

According to the reports, all was calm during that address until the Speaker broached his concerns over calls on the ECOWAS Commission to, by a pronouncement, impose a two-term limit on heads of state of member-countries. Cissé-Lo argued that every country has sovereign right to choose how its government is run and ECOWAS shouldn’t meddle.

“There are some countries where the mandate is not limited. I can mention Cameroun, for instance. Let’s leave these countries to alter their constitutions based on their terms. All constitutions can be reviewed and adapted to suit (their) realities…

That is why I say ECOWAS cannot make a pronouncement to limit mandates to not more than two terms; that is not for ECOWAS to determine,” he was quoted saying.

The Speaker’s argument, however, did not sit well with other parliamentarians who jeered, prompting him to apologise: “If you don’t like the way that sounds, I withdraw it. I’m sorry about it.” But he dug in on his conviction, saying: “We see what has been written in the press and we cannot shy away from this argument. I am saying that the states have their sovereignty to determine how they want to run their governments as long as everybody in that country accepts it that way.”

Other members of the sub-regional parliament took a different line. A member from Liberia, who spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the event, reportedly said his colleagues were unhappy with the Speaker’s submission and were of the view that the ECOWAS Commission should, as of necessity, pressure member-countries to limit the terms of their heads of state to two. He argued that true democracy does not allow for perpetuity of incumbent leaders.

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We acknowledge the sovereignty of respective member-nations of ECOWAS, but disagree with the parliament Speaker that this sovereignty precludes peer guidance.

The ultimate value of peer clubs is for members to engage in mutual review, whereby wayward members are weaned from their waywardness and nudged into adopting universal best practices.

The issue of term limit for heads of state is particularly germane for ECOWAS because the sub-regional body is on a continent that parades the highest number of presidential monarchies. Of the 10 longest ruling non-monarchs in the world as of today, six are from Africa; and the topmost spot on that roll is held by Camerounian President Paul Biya (from West Africa), who has been in office for over 44 years and doesn’t appear faintly inclined yet to go. Other Africans on the top-10 list include Teodoro Obiang, Equatorial Guinea (40 years), Dennis Sassou Nguesso, Republic of Congo (35 years), Yoweri Museveni, Uganda (34 years), Idriss Derby, Chad (29 years) and Isaias Afweki, Eritrea (26 years).

Beyond the top-10 there are Paul Kagame of Rwanda (25 years), Hage Geinob, Namibia (19 years), Faure Gnassingbe, Togo (14 years), Pierre Nkurunziza, Burundi (14 years), Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Mali (12 years) and Alassane Quattara, Cote d’Ivoire (12 years).

It is doubtful that the perpetuity of many of these leaders in power has resulted in developmental strides for their countries. Worse is that some have had to brutally muscle through a rewriting of their respective country’s constitution to accommodate their jugular hold on power.

We believe that the ECOWAS Commission should be keen to guide its member-nations on the path of democratic rectitude.

To that end, members of the ECOWAS Parliament should not be dissuaded from nudging the commission accordingly. We further recommend that the African Union (AU) should itself toe that line for the entire continent.