GHANA-ECOWAS W. African leaders drop term limit idea after Gambia, Togo oppose

Record ID: 154688

  • Title: GHANA-ECOWAS W. African leaders drop term limit idea after Gambia, Togo oppose
  • Date: 20th May 2015
  • Summary: KATSINA, NIGERIA (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CROWD/ PRESIDENT ELECT MUHAMMADU BUHARI AT A POLLING UNIT FOR VOTING BUHARI/ HIS WIFE AISHA BUHARI LOOKING ON
  • Embargoed: 4th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADC1XR3X7V2IY9GGUE9LPMGP2I
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: West African leaders on Tuesday, (May 19) rejected a proposal to impose a region-wide limit to the number of terms presidents can serve, after opposition to the idea from Togo and Gambia.
    The proposal was discussed at a regional summit in Accra, Ghana.
    Togo and Gambia are the only members of West Africa's ECOWAS bloc that do not limit the number of presidential terms to two.
    The decision was made as Senegal President, Macky Sall took over from Ghana President, John Dramani Mahama as the new ECOWAS chairman.
    In his inaugural speech, however, Sall focused instead on what he said were ECOWAS' successes.
    "For 40 years ECOWAS has slowly but surely built a credible reputation and competence in the area of peace, development and economic integration that we can be proud of," said Sall.
    The talks by members of West Africa's ECOWAS bloc come as several long-standing African presidents are approaching legal term limits. Attempts to change the law, or circumvent it, have sparked unrest in Burundi and Burkina Faso.
    Protests began in Guinea in April after the electoral commission announced that a presidential election would be held on October 11, a decision the opposition said broke a 2013 agreement to stage long-delayed local elections first.
    Analysts say that holding local polls first would give President Alpha Conde's rivals more influence in organising the presidential election.
    Presidential and legislative elections since 2010, when Guinea emerged from decades of military rule, have been marred by violent protests, with parties divided along ethnic lines.
    "I welcome the engagement of ECOWAS in Guinea and the urgent call for political dialogue and negotiated solutions through the work of the United Nations office for West Africa. We'll continue to work with ECOWAS and other partners to diffuse tension and resume dialogue in the lead up to the presidential and local elections," said Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of United Nations Secretary General for West Africa.
    Outgoing Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan who earlier this year conceded defeat to rival, Muhammadu Buhari, appeared more optimistic about the region's turbulent political landscape.
    Three decades after seizing power in a military coup, Buhari became the first Nigerian to oust a president through the ballot box, putting him in charge of Africa's biggest economy.
    "I feel deeply satisfied the tree of democracy planted in my country and our subregion has taken root and it's blossoming. I have no doubt whatsoever that under the watchful guidance and nurtured enough, your excellencies, that tree will continue to bear abundant fruits," Jonathan added.
    With one of the world's fastest growing economies, many African countries are experiencing a population boom. But the continent is still struggling to alleviate poverty.
    Outgoing ECOWAS chairman, Ghana's president, John Dramani Mahama urged the regional bloc to focus on job creation for many unemployed youth.
    "The challenge of job creation for young people is going to be a challenge that faces every single country in our subregion. It is a situation that faces even the developed countries and especially for Africa considering that we have the fastest growing youth population; young people are leaving school at every level of the educational system and are coming out in the hope that they can find jobs is going to be a major challenge for us," he said.
    ECOWAS can suspend members who do not comply with regional measures. Chambas, the top United Nations official in West Africa, told Reuters that countries in the region without term limits would be encouraged to introduce them.
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