Presidential Term Limits: A New African Foreign Policy Challenge

The policy brief examines the link between presidential term extensions and political instability in Africa, citing coups in Burkina Faso and Burundi as evidence. It argues that the African Union (AU) has been too reactive, focusing on suspending governments after coups rather than preventing the constitutional manipulations that trigger them. The author calls for the AU to formalize presidential term limits within its governance architecture, specifically suggesting amendments to the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. The brief recommends that 'anchor states' like South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya use preventive diplomacy to discourage term extensions, noting that such practices undermine the goals of Agenda 2063 and regional security.

• Attempts by presidents to extend their stay in power through constitutional revisions are direct drivers of domestic violence, political instability, and regional security threats.
• The 2014 coup in Burkina Faso and the May 2015 attempted coup in Burundi are cited as examples where government collapse resulted from attempts by leaders Blaise Compaoré and Pierre Nkurunziza to extend their presidential terms.
• The African Union's current approach is overly reactive, focusing on suspending member states after unconstitutional overthrows rather than addressing the root cause of term extensions.
• There is a strong causality between leaders remaining in power for protracted periods and the resulting fragility of the state and its institutions.
• The AU has struggled to address term limits due to the prevailing 'sovereignty-norm', which views these limits as domestic issues beyond the AU's policy purview.
• The author recommends that the AU Commission formulate a position paper to lead to amendments of the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance to include a section on presidential term limits.
• Regional efforts to establish term limits have faced resistance; for example, an ECOWAS attempt in May 2015 to adopt a regional position on two-term limits was blocked by The Gambia and Togo.

APA

Hengari, A. T. (2015). Presidential Term Limits: A New African Foreign Policy Challenge. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Briefing-138.pdf

Chicago

Hengari, Alfredo Tjiurimo. Presidential Term Limits: A New African Foreign Policy Challenge. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Briefing-138.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hengari |first1=Alfredo Tjiurimo |title=Presidential Term Limits: A New African Foreign Policy Challenge |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Briefing-138.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hengari2015presidential, author = {Hengari, Alfredo Tjiurimo}, title = {{Presidential Term Limits: A New African Foreign Policy Challenge}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Briefing-138.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }