Africa and the never ending debate of ‘life presidents'

Cameroon’s Paul Biya, at 90 is one of the world’s oldest presidents with a current mandate that runs to 2025. With no signs of a voluntary transition underway for a country that has been at war with itself for some years now, the never ending debate on the continent and beyond about ‘life presidencies’ is here to stay.

He is not the only ‘life president’ on the continent nor is he the longest serving president-past or present-as there are many other presidents who ruled longer than him after they amended constitutions and removed any restrictions on their time in office.

Consequently, some of the world’s current longest serving presidents are in Africa.

Presidential term limits are new to Africa. The first generation of independence leaders did not have such encumbrance of looking at the calendar for time left on their mandate. The majority of them either served for life, were toppled through military coups, and the rare cases of them either voluntarily relinquishing power or being defeated at the polls.

In most countries in Africa, presidential term limits came with the winds of political changes of the late 1980s to early 1990s. This has turned them into a contested affair as those opposed to term limits have claimed that they are an imposition of Western powers on the continent despite the fact that most Western countries do not have term limits for their leaders because the majority are parliamentary democracies, and some like France introduced term limits for the president as recent as 2008.

Interestingly, there are no such consternations about parliamentary democracies in Africa where those in charge are prime ministers who can effectively rule longer than presidents. With the exception of Lesotho with its violent power struggles, the majority of other parliamentary democracies in Africa like Mauritius and Seychelles have performed admirably in many development indicators and political stability.

This ‘tolerance’ could also be a result of perception with how power is distributed and exercised in a given country and the prospects of changes in the country’s leadership. There is a degree of decentralisation of power in countries led by prime ministers compared to those where presidents call the shots.

Inevitably, the debates about presidential term limits have been about democracy and governance, with supporters arguing that they guarantee political stability and offer certainty regarding political succession something which has troubled many countries in Africa. As such, to some, presidential term limits are seen as a magic wand to solve many of governance and democracy deficits on the continent.

Some surveys have shown that as much as seventy five percent of those who have been surveyed expressed support for presidential term limits in Africa. Such support could be down to the realities and contexts of each country. Many African countries had terrible experiences when presidents did not have a known exit door. There is also the fact that the continent is home to the world’s youngest population which is in stark contrast to the majority of its leaders, especially ‘life presidents’ who are generally old or rose to power through dynastic politics in times where the majority of their population desperately want to live in a meritocracy country.

Countries with presidential term limits in Africa have experienced longer terms of political stability and fewer internal armed conflicts compared to those where no such limits are in place. This means that regardless of how hollow or otherwise state institutions are in countries with presidential term limits, they come to acquire experiences of serving under different rulers even if the political party in charge rarely changes or has never changed since independence.

Political and military elites harbouring political ambitions are more likely to wait patiently in the wings in a country where they know for sure that the one at the top will eventually sign out, giving turn for others to sit at the high table. Lack of a clear exit for the president leads to scrambles every now and then when those waiting grow impatient culminating into a military coup or series of political purges. That is no good news to the country.

Presidential term limits are not panacea to democracy and governance deficiencies plaguing much of the continent. It is also crucial to consider the contexts of each country regarding the lengthy of presidential terms. That would lead to a more enduring outcome of the best ways through which African countries govern themselves.