continue pushing a failed model . Here ’ s why .
For something to work , context matters . The same is true for democracy , which is presented as one form , among others , of a governing framework guided by a number of principles and values , and culminating in elections . Any system of government ought to evolve within a society ’ s historical context and as a response to those unique challenges that democracy is designed to solve . This is how democracy evolved in the West .
Consider the contentious issue of term limits . For much of the slightly over 240 years since the American constitution was ratified in June 1778 , there were no term limits in that country ’ s political system . It wasn ’ t until February 1951 that the 22nd amendment that limits presidents to two terms in office was introduced . For perspective , this is over 170 years later , and also before any African country was independent . Franklin D . Roosevelt served four presidential terms from 1933 to 1945 and died in office . Indeed , it is conceivable that , had it not been for poor health , Roosevelt could have served more terms , especially given his popularity at the time . Getting Americans triumphantly out of World War II and the Great Depression , and his impressive record of socioeconomic transformation , especially the introduction of the welfare state as part of the New Deal , endeared him to the people .
How do Americans account for the 170-year delay to introduce presidential term limits ? Were they under dictatorship during that long duration ? If they want to be sincere , they acknowledge that it is the context of War that made it necessary for Roosevelt to stay and die in office . In other words , they concede that democracy , and even term limits , evolve within a country ’ s specific context , history , and competing priorities . Another of the other rare “ democratic ” countries with presidential systems , France , introduced term limits only in 2008 . Clearly , there is no inherent sanctity in term limits . In fact , when questions are asked about the American Senate system where Joe Biden served for seven terms from 1972 to 2009 , there are no satisfying answers . Senators and members of the lower houses are also prone to nepotism and corruption , and they are subject to capture by special interest groups that prevent them from serving the interests of those who elect them . If it were Africa , the story of Joe Biden would have been about his longevity in power from the early age of 29 .
However , Biden ’ s longevity as Senator of Delaware is accounted for by the fact that at no single time was his vote in the senate elections lower than 60 percent . In other words , he – like Roosevelt before him – remained popular with his electorate . Of course , to accuse Biden of being power hungry would be to disregard context and history .
Therefore , term limits are a defeatist approach and simplistic way of escaping the major question of electoral justice . In a society where there is electoral justice ( that is , a fair system where peoples ’ votes count ), an electoral commission that is constituted to ensure fairness , and where people can vote out a leader once they are fed up with him or her , one doesn ’ t have to bother with term limits . On the other hand , term limits can become a hindrance when people genuinely want to keep their leader in power because they still trust him or her to get the job done . In this instance , term limits stand in the way of the democratic wishes of society . In other words , where there is electoral justice , what people vote for is what counts , and how long leaders stay in power is irrelevant . Hence , our democratisation journey in Africa should focus on electoral justice , not term limits .
Term limits as a one-size-fits-all approach to politics were introduced in Africa as part of an externally-inspired reform package , and are considered the most important sign of democratic performance . The media , civil society , and even the people , always closely follow every leader at the end of his / her official mandate , to see if they will or won ’ t go beyond the two-term constitutional limits . But term limits inherently carry two questionable assumptions . One , it is assumed that an African leader cannot , by himself , without any external constraint or pressure , relinquish power and hand it over to the next leader . This , of course , doesn ’ t stand scrutiny .
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