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Limitations On Terms
Recently, there have been many policies surrounding limitations on the amount of terms that presidencies can stay in office. Most policies in West Africa aim to restrict presidents to two terms, to avoid authoriaism. The controversy arose from the incumbent president arguing that the changes were not retroactive allowing them to run for 3rd and 4th terms. Former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade was severely criticized after launching his candidacy in 2012.
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Limitations On Terms
Similarly, in 2016, Cote d'Ivoire reformed its Constitution limiting presidents to two terms, however, incumbent president Alassane Ouattara ran for a third term in 2020.
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Limitations On Terms
In 2019, Togo approved the same policy, but President Faure Gnassingbe argued that the changes did not apply to him, running for a third term in 2020.
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Constitutional Reforms
Throughout the last years, many West African countries experienced significant changes in their constitutions. Some changes were enacted through constitutional referenda, such as in Mali (2023), in which 97% of Malians approved changes in the constitution that increased the powers of the president, with the prime minister responding to the President rather than the National Assembly.
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Constitutional Reforms
Other changes were made through the legislature, in Benin (2019), constitutional reforms reduced Legislative mandates from 4 to 3 years.
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Constitutional Reforms
In Senegal (2016), a constitutional referendum reduced the presidency term from 7 to 5 years.
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Constitutional Reforms
In Togo, constitutional reforms in 2019 changed the election system from a two-round system, replacing the previous first-past-the-post system. Change in 2024 would modify the system of government from a presidential regime to a parliamentary regime, with indirect voting.
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Sponsorship Policy
Sponsorship policies, also known as "parrainage”, have become increasingly popular. They usually require candidates to meet a certain quota of endorsement by other politicians, legislatures, or even voters. Some argue that sponsorship policies improve the quality and legitimacy of electoral processes and ensure that candidates have a significant level of support before they can run for office. However, the parrainage can also be used to suppress smaller candidates. Senegal introduced the sponsorship system in 2018. Candidates must collect signatures from at least 0.8% of the electorate, spread across at least seven of the country’s regions.
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Sponsorship Policy
Burkina Faso’s system (2020) requires that every presidential candidate be sponsored by at least 50 elected officials. If the sponsors are municipal councilors, they must be from at least seven of the 13 regions of the country.
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Sponsorship Policy
In Côte d’Ivoire (2020) presidential candidates must obtain endorsements from 1% of the electorate in at least 17 regions.
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Sponsorship Policy
In 2022 and 2023, President of Guine-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló dissolved the opposition-controlled parliament after disagreements and alleged coup attempts.
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Sponsorship Policy
In 2024, Benin increased its already-established sponsorship quota, with a 5% increase in the number of sponsors and the endorsement of 60% of the electoral constituencies to run.