On December 11, Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu told leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that good governance was the only antidote to the rash of coups sweeping through the sub-region. Although, the Nigerian leader’s advisory may have resonated with his colleagues, the presidential admonition apparently did not include any point about how the penchant of leaders to elongate their tenures was undermining democracy and good governance.
However, the reality of the issue of tenure elongation, which diplomatic courtesies would not have allowed the Nigerian leader freely relay to his colleagues, was exhaustively discussed at a forum of civil society actors under the platform of the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS).
The network is a transnational civil society group with 30 members. It was founded in the wake of the coup pandemic and other indicators, which showed evidence that the sub-region was sliding back to the dark and despotic days of military adventurism in the political spaces of countries in the sub-region.
For two full days, shortly before the ECOWAS Heads of States arrived Abuja for their summit, the network engaged in an exhaustive dialogue, which identified the real drivers of the coups and other forms of anti-democratic takeover of government in West Africa.
Interestingly, the crux of the convening was the menace posed by tenure elongation as promoted and forced through by sit tight West African leaders and how this singular anomaly had over the years undermined democracy, stability and prosperity in West Africa. Even so, the leaders and members of WADEMOS were keen to come up with data-driven approaches to address the problem and put democracy in West Africa on the pathway to deliver the right outcomes for the long suffering citizens of the sub-region.
Setting the tone for the conversation, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, who was represented by the group’s Grants and Partnership Manager, Mr. Damian Ihekoronye reminded participants of the challenges facing democracy in the sub-region.
She stressed that concerted efforts were required by civil society to put up a sustained response, which would effectively address the challenge posed by the decline of democracy in the sub-region.
Echoing the point about the urgent need to stop the further slide in the fortunes of democracy in the sub-region, WADEMOS Director of Programs and Policy Engagements, Dr. Kojo Asante who welcomed participants on behalf the network’s Executive Director, Professor Kwasi Prempeh drew attention to the group’s efforts to support the review of the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
A critical aspect of that exertion, The Explainer gathered, is the effort to tackle “presidential term extension and violation of human rights and freedoms in West Africa.” The WADEMOS helmsman declared: “This is a matter that has been long standing and was revisited following the coup in Guinea.
Despite multiple unsuccessful attempts to present it for consideration by ECOWAS Heads of State, it is imperative for citizens of West Africa to make their voices heard loudly so that our leaders will take the necessary steps to secure a peaceful and democratic future for us and generations to come.”
Dr. Asante noted that Afrobarometer surveys and a number of other democracy indicators have demonstrated that citizens prefer term limits and are disillusioned about the behavior of Western African politicians, especially their thirst for term extensions. WADEMOS went on to describe such attitudes on the part of sit tight politicians in West Africa as one of the major factors responsible for the state of democratic decline, the unconstitutional changes in government, as well as the closing civic spaces, and the human rights abuses.
According to the group: “For the past three years, four of the fifteen members of ECOWAS turned from contested and fragile democracies into military dictatorships—as we see in Guinea, Mali, Burkina-Faso, and most recently Niger.” WADEMOS also expressed worries that in other countries, there were clear signals of term elongation, which are usually achieved through constitutional amendments or intimidation and restriction of the political rights of opposition figures.
The group however described the case of Senegal as refreshing, especially as President Macky Sall announced he would not be seeking re-election in 2024, finally dispelling speculation that he was seeking a third term in office.
With such a strong rallying cry to set the tone, civil society stakeholders at the roundtable were energized to make their contributions on how best to address the threat posed by tenure elongation and other manifestations of the violation of term limits by political leaders. Using the formats of the panel discussions, and subsequent plenary interventions, West African stakeholders were quick in putting forward their insights and ideas on the issue.
One very interesting perspective put forward came from the research presented by the Africa Network of Constitutional Lawyers (ANCL), which was represented by Ms. Henrietta Erikife. Referring to Chapter 2 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, the group noted how the protocol provides the modalities for sanction for acts, which undermine democracy.
“Article 45 states that ECOWAS may sanction a member state where democracy is abruptly ended or where there are massive violations of human rights. The sanctions can include suspension from ECOWAS, refusal to recommend candidates from the member states for elective posts in international organization, and refusal to organize ECOWAS meetings in the member state’s jurisdiction.”
Similarly, the WADEMOS roundtable tried to interrogate the effectiveness of the provisions of Article 1(c) of the ECOWAS protocol, which focuses on the regional body’s zero tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means. It was however argued that while this particular protocol represents a legal commitment to a representative form of democracy, there remains the critical issue of sit tight politicians who use unconstitutional means to extend their terms in office.
Stakeholders at the roundtable therefore agreed that the dimension of “constitutional coups” has not been addressed in the sub-region’s normative framework. Importantly, the implications of political leaders evading term limits to perpetuate themselves in office were further outlined in the report disseminated by the Africa Network of Constitutional Lawyers (ANCL). The report titled; Policy and Legislative Mechanisms for Promoting Presidential Term Limits within ECOWAS subsequently argues that circumventing term limits makes credible elections unlikely, as the chances of opposition parties winning in the face of such self-serving reforms by incumbents becomes extremely difficult. The report notes: “Nevertheless, it is generally difficult for opposition parties to win credible elections after an incumbent has altered the system to stay in power beyond their term limit.”
In practical terms, the roundtable reflected on some examples of how the push for tenure elongation by political leaders in the sub-region caused restiveness and instability, including losses in lives as citizens protested these moves. ANCL data pointed at the bad example of Ivory Coast, where President Alassane Ouattara ran for and won a third term despite term limits in his country.
“This led to violence and death of at least 50 people in the country.” Ironically, ECOWAS congratulated the Ivorian President on his victory, while refraining from condemning his decision to disregard the constitutional term limit. The roundtable equally brainstormed on lessons learned from Guinea where Alpha Conde amended the constitution to reset the clock on his term and run for a third term in 2020. The ANCL report narrates how Conde won the controversial polls, and was inaugurated with officials of ECOWAS and the UN in attendance.
The regional bloc also did not summon the courage and resolve to condemn the violation of the Presidential Term Limit. In the case of Guinea, violent protests followed the election and inauguration of the President Conde; it was subsequently argued that the political tension and lack of legitimacy in the period after the elections emboldened the military to overthrow the Guinean President in 2021. The ANCL report notes that: “it was only after the military coup that ECOWAS spoke about the situation in Guinea through its extra ordinary summit of the ECOWAS authority of Heads of State and government on the situation in Guinea and Mali.”
Subsequently, stakeholders at the roundtable, after identifying the various dimensions of the challenge went on to proffer solutions and perspectives in line with experiences in the sub-region. The starting point was the position, which was echoed that the time had indeed come for ECOWAS to promulgate a code on presidential term limits in the proposed amendment to its supplementary protocol.
It was stressed that the move to amend the protocol is aimed at ensuring that Heads of States and governments do not do not alter their respective constitutions to stay beyond two terms in office for any reason. Other points canvassed at the roundtable include the effective use of sanctions and suspensions to deter political leaders who insist on pushing through constitutional changes for the purpose of elongating their tenures.
On his part, CDD Senior Fellow, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim provided the perspective that tenure elongation was not a new thing in the democratic space in West Africa as many political leaders tend to want to stay beyond the time stipulated in the constitution. The renowned academic recalled that the issue of tenure elongation was what led to the introduction of the two term rule.
Professor Jibrin however lamented that the two term rule was not into the governance framework of the sub-region, and that this made it quite easy for political actors to sidestep it without much consequence. He therefore called on civil society to find the courage and tenacity to take up the issue with ECOWAS Heads of State and government and insist on reforms towards the realization of the “ECOWAS of the people.”
However, the point was also canvassed that for the strategic goal of making tenure elongation unfashionable, unpopular and unacceptable in the sub-region to be achieved, civil society also has to step up advocacy efforts to government within their countries.
These advocacy efforts could take very innovative patterns. During the final panel conversation, moderated by Ms. Faith Nwadashi, Professor David Dosseh shared some of those innovative advocacy tips to include working with musical artiste to produce popular songs, which could be used to mobilize the minds of the people at the grassroots to reject tenure elongation.
Another idea shared was about how civil society organized and handed a symbolic relay baton to President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic, who then went on to make a commitment not to extend his tenure beyond the time that was constitutionally allowed. Similarly, Ken Ukaoha, President of National Trade Association of Nigeria (NANTS) equally weighed in on the need for citizens to play oversight on what members of parliaments are doing. He said due to the free rein lawmakers have, they tend to act on their own without recourse for those who voted for them.
He said this made it easy for the man at the helm of the executive arm of government to railroad them to achieve whatever agenda he wants, including tenure elongation. Ukaoha also stressed the need for unity and solidarity among West Africa CSOs. He said by uniting and speaking with a common voice, West African CSOs will place themselves on the right pedestal to influence policies and legal processes in order to achieve a democratic, just and stable sub-region. On the second day of the WADEMOS convening, the Coordinator of the network, Paul Osier Kufuor reeled out the demands collectively agreed at the roundtable to the press.
As the curtain was drawn on the Nigerian leg of the WADEMOS engagement on addressing tenure elongation, stakeholders left with high expectations that leaders in West Africa will listen and hear the voices of the people loud and clear, especially the specific clarion call that tenure elongation and the violation of term limits will no longer be accepted in the sub-region.
