West African Leaders Drop Third-term Ban Proposal
The Gambia, whose President Yahya Jammeh has been in power for four terms, opposed the term-limit plan
A plan to restrict West African presidents to two terms in office has been dropped for the time-being by heads of state.
They discussed the proposal to impose limits at a regional summit.
Togo and The Gambia, both with presidents who have been in power for more than two terms, opposed the idea, diplomats say.
The third-term issue has caused a lot of controversy in several African states in recent years.
Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaore was forced out of office last year after trying to change the constitution so he could run for a third term.
In East Africa, there have been weeks of protests and a failed coup after Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to seek a third term in office.
The constitutions of most West African states already impose a two-term limit.
The proposal discussed at Tuesday’s summit of the regional body Ecowas in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, was supposed to formalise this across the region
BBC
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