One presidential term in Africa to stem poll chaos

More than ever before, it now makes sense to have a single presidential term in African top leadership. A lengthy presidential term of at least seven years will suffice. This is borne out of the economic uncertainty created by political and social chaos of second term presidential elections. Recent elections in Gabon, Zambia and Uganda have clearly indicated that unseating an incumbent who is unwilling to leave is an exercise in futility. Courts rarely offer any meaningful solution either. In the Zambian case, the constitutional court threw out the opposition‘s petition on technicalities.

Ordinarily, an incumbent without skeletons in his closet would be willing to retire. The driving force to a second term however is those people benefiting directly from his lofty position. The solution to Africa‘s election chaos lies in entrenching a fixed single term that is long enough to enable the incumbent and his hangers-on ample time to make enough use of his position before exiting peacefully. That way, the opposition will likely romp home without many bruises, with the country remaining peaceful.