![]() ![]() Importantly, term limits “can facilitate democratization in Africa” and “help push semi-authoritarian countries toward democracy by handicapping incumbents and increasing the chances of democratic turnover from one party to another.” For example, in interviews with high-level Kenyan officials, Dr. The constitutional coup as a threat to the entrenchment of democracy However, for such a constitutional democracy to survive and flourish, it must have a “virtuous,” robust, and politically active public, as well as political elites dedicated to maintaining the country’s constitutional institutions. To combat the abuse of the rights of minorities by majorities-that is, to minimize majoritarian tyranny-a country can create a governmental system in which the people are sovereign but government power and the exercise of it is limited by the constitution, which includes provisions to explicitly protect individual rights, to instill separation of powers through checks and balances, and to enshrine popular sovereignty through elections. Indeed, in Africa, one of the most important constraints to democratic consolidation is the violent struggle by various factions, many of which are actually ethnocultural groups, to capture, through elections or other means, the apparatus of government. In each country in the world, groups or factions whose interests may not be in line with those of the country as a whole certainly exist. For example, authoritarian regimes in countries, such as Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea have used elections to legitimize their leaders and remain in power indefinitely. It is important to note that, although elections are critical to the transition of a country from authoritarianism to constitutional democracy, they can also serve as a tool for the survival of authoritarian governments. ![]() In fact, while elections can help African countries consolidate, deepen, and entrench democracy, they can also pave the way for sustained majoritarian power to the detriment of the minority, as we have seen in countries like Cameroon. Nevertheless, in order for elections to perform these three important functions and do so effectively, these elections must (i) be regular, not infrequent and (ii) fair, free, competitive, inclusive, transparent, and credible.Īt the same time, free and frequent elections as a constraint to governmental tyranny are a necessary but not sufficient condition to guarantee and guard liberty. In Africa, elections perform at least three important democratizing functions: They (1) help the continent build and sustain effective democratic institutions (2) provide the people with an effective legal tool to constrain and guard the government and minimize impunity and (3) enhance the ability of the people to change their government and bring into public service new and more energetic and effective political leaders. The hope is that, as the level of democratic development improves in these countries, such constitutional coups will become a rarity.įree and frequent elections as a constraint to governmental tyranny are a necessary but not sufficient condition to guarantee and guard liberty. It is important to note that relatively weak institutions and the absence of a democratic culture have facilitated the ability of incumbents to manipulate constitutions in the countries named in this paragraph. Changing the constitution to eliminate term and/or age limits for presidents and allow the incumbent president to unconstitutionally extend his mandate has been referred to as a constitutional coup. Presidents that have changed their countries’ constitutions to eliminate the two-term limit include Presidents Gnassingbé (Togo), Museveni (Uganda), Déby (Chad), Biya (Cameroon), Kagame (Rwanda), the late Nkurunziza (Burundi), and el-Sisi (Egypt), just to name a few. In addition, these and other recent institutional changes have created conditions that make it very difficult for the opposition to participate competitively in elections. Notably, while presidents in some countries, such as Kenya, Liberia, and Ghana, have abided by their countries’ two-term limit, others have used legislatures subservient to the president to change their constitutions to allow them to stay in power beyond those two terms, and, in some cases, indefinitely. Nonresident Senior Fellow - Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative
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