The West Africa Democracy Network (WADEMOS), a transnational network of 35 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from the region, has called on the ECOWAS to adopt term limits, to address tenure elongation in West Africa.
The call comes ahead of ECOWAS Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government scheduled to hold in Abuja on 10 December.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the call was made at a roundtable on civic mobilisation campaign initiated by WADEMOS, in collaboration with the International Citizens Movement Tournons La Page (TLP) in Abuja.
Some WADEMOS members, in interviews on the sidelines of the roundtable, said the call was imperative to strengthen democracy in the region and curtail crisis coming with tenure elongation or heads of state exerting long rules in their countries.
According to the Network Coordinator, Paul Osei-Kuffour, in the concept note, “a report by Afrobarometer revealed that 75 per cent of citizens in 34 African countries favour limiting presidential mandates to two terms”.
Mr Osei-Kuffour said in West Africa, efforts to extend presidential terms had been more successful than unsuccessful, with the resulting elections won by the incumbent, especially within francophone countries.
He said, “the event aimed to mobilise relevant pro-democratic actors ahead of the Head-of-State conference to promote and emphasise CSOs’ position on the third-term, share and harmonise plans of action.
“It is also aimed at raising public awareness on the issue of the third term, its effect, impact challenges and opportunities and engage ECOWAS on the necessity to adopt a provision in the protocol on democracy and good governance.”
Kojo Asante, Director of Programmes and Policy Engagement, Centre for Democracy and Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana) and WADEMOS, said the roundtable was an effort to bring together prodemocracy forces in the sub region.
This, Mr Asante, said was to discuss one of the responses that had been on the table – the unconstitutional changes in government.
“It will also discuss some of the democratic declines we have experienced in the sub region over the last 10 years, because people are frustrated by unconstitutional coups, people attempting term elongations.”
He said this triggered instability and violence, leading to military coups.
“These have always been a trigger for retrogression. We think it’s time for civil society itself and citizens to voice their support for these rules to be adopted by ECOWAS,’’ he said.
Mr Asante said the CSOs believed that it was essential, therefore, for ECOWAS and Heads of State in the region to make a move against tenure elongation and not see it as business as usual.
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He said that the roundtable was a start to bring people together to push for that while CSOs would continue the agitation in order for ECOWAS to adopt standards on term limits.
The WADEMOS Project Co-ordinator Francophone, Marie Josiane-Ngah, said the meeting was part of the civic campaign to mobilise civic actors from West Africa to discuss and find strategies for a way forward, to influence tenure elongation.
Ms Josiane-Ngah said issues of political reforms were raised as well as how CSOs could collaborate to have a bigger impact with ECOWAS.
“So after this meeting, we are supposed to continue to strengthen collaboration among CSOs, influencers, and other pro-democratic actors because we have activists, influencers who are committed to fight the institutionaliation of term limits.
“It is about us strengthening our cooperation and reinforcing the synergy so that we can have bigger impact both at the national level, international level.
“ECOWAS needs to hear our voice, that’s why we are here in Nigeria,” she said.
Also, the President of National Trade Association in Nigeria, Ken Ukahoa, said it was worrisome that people elected their parliamentarians without checks and balances.
He said most times, they were bought over by heads of state, thereby rubbishing democracy.
Mr Ukahoa said there was need for Public Private Dialogues (PPD), “where this kind of orientation brings up some sense of ownership by the people.
“The Executive, Legislature and Judiciary know that they are supposed to be working together for the people but this is lacking in West Africa.”
The Coordinator Front Togo Debout, David Dosseh, a professor, said there was need to have the courage to work on the region’s democracy.
“Democracy may not be a perfect system but not as bad as other systems we have had in the regimes .’’(NAN)
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