FLASH BACK, SEPTEMBER 2020: CSOs human rights & pro-democracy campaigners pose with PUL President Charles Coffey, National CSOs Council Chairperson Loretta Alethea Pope-kai, House Committee Chair on Claims & Petition Hon. Rustonlyn Suacoco Dennis, and Better Future Foundation President Rev. Augustine S. Arkoi.
Monrovia- Partners for Democracy and Good Governance (PDG), a consortium of West African Regional Civil Society Organizations has attributed the reemergence, and or/ rising wave of military coups in Africa to unbridled corruption, dictatorship and tyranny, abuse of power, bad governance, among other vices.
In a press release issued recently, the PDG also named egregious violations of basic socio-economic, and political rights of the African people, mainly by incumbent Heads of State and government in their own countries.
According to PDG, the situation is worsening by the blatant failure, unbalanced approach and apparent inaction being adopted against some coup makers by the continental umbrella body, the African Union (AU) and other regional groups including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to decisively checkmate military leaders and fortune seekers, using the trigger of the guns to catapult themselves into state power at the expense of democracy which requires the popular will of the African people via free, fair, transparent, inclusive and credible elections at all times.
New coup leaders in West Africa
As a result of such detestable, reprehensible, dreadful and power and wealth-thirsty behaviors by many incumbent leaders and their apologists in Africa, democracy is not only drowning on the continent but inadvertently on life-support, awaiting a state of anarchy, sooner than later, if nothing concrete is done by the AU, ECOWAS and other regional bodies for its urgent resuscitation and survival.
In a statement issued recently in Monrovia, the consortium of regional civil society groups, while expressing disdain and displeasure over the rising wave of military coups and attempted takeovers on the African continent underscored the dire need for incumbent African leaders to not only uncompromisingly respect and fully adhere to their respective countries’ constitutional term limits but also perform in the best interests of their citizens, majority of whom are currently languishing in abject poverty and misery while most African governors, along with their few associates, are brazenly flaunting ill-gotten wealth.
It may be recalled that PDG, which is also an alliance and network of regional civil society and pro-democracy advocacy groups, on September 3rd 2020, separately submitted a formal Petition to the Liberian Legislature and the Diplomatic Community in Monrovia, indicating that the current and unabated quests by a growing number of incumbent Presidents in Africa to stage-manage constitutional amendments for third term tenures or more would escalate political tension.
It will also re-introduce popular uprisings, civil protests, reverse sustainable development gains, and induce guerilla warfare on the African continent including the sub-regions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Mano River Union (MRU).
On October 16, 2021, similar Petition was submitted to the United States and Swedish embassies near Monrovia, beseeching their respective governments’ immediate intervention in ameliorating the situation, which it said, would inevitably serve as a catalyst to intensify instability with unintended catastrophic consequences particularly in the sub-Saharan Africa which includes the ECOWAS/MRU regions, and affect approximately over 200-million human population and the regional economy.
Since PDG’s submission of said petition to the International Community including the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), Unites States, Sweden, among others, more than a half dozen military coups and other unlawful seizures of state power have already taken place in Africa; and many more to occur, according to experts.
Among them are the 2020 military coup in the West African state of Mali, which was followed in 2021 by other successful coups in Chad, Guinea, the Sudan, Burkina Faso and attempted coups in Niger, the Sudan and Guinea Bissau.
At the time, PdG made specific references to then President Alpha Conde of Republic of Guinea, now dethroned by the Guinean military, and incumbent President Alassane Ouattara of Republic of Cote d’Ivoire.
The regional civil society alliance, at the time, underscored in the said petition, the need for both Conde and Quattara to “abort their respective plans of infringing on constitutional democracy, with the aim of perpetuating themselves in state power and unconditionally return to nobility by adhering to respect for the rule of law in their respective countries and to preserve and sustain democracy and development in the ECOWAS sub-region and on the African continent.”
Prior to his dethronement by the Guinean military Junta, the petitioners stressed that President Conde must particularly respect and fully comply with Article 154 of the Guinean Constitution which unequivocally declares that “the number and the duration of the mandates of the President of the Republic may not be made the object of a revision.”
Equally so, PdG called on President Ouattara, at the time, to “halt his infringement, yield to the potential conflict and early warning sign of instability in his country, by respecting Article 55 of the new Ivorian Constitution which prohibits more than two terms of office.”
Unfortunately, according to PdG, president Ouattara was sworn in for his much-desired third term tenure with both AU and ECOWAS saying little or nothing amidst vehement protests, bordering on his alleged constitutional infringements and electoral irregularities as raised by Ivorian opposition political leaders.
PdG also referenced Article 55 of the Ivorian constitution which states that: “The President of the Republic is elected for five years by direct universal suffrage. He may be re-elected only once.”
The PdG further told the American Embassy then that “the actions of Presidents Conde and Ouattara, who were once crusaders for democracy and architects of good governance, but had become clouded by greed, egotistic quest for perpetual political power to rebirth 21st Century political dinosaurs and dictatorship were recipe for chaos and instability with potential spilt-over effects in the MRU and ECOWAS sub-region.”
“In spite of some challenges,” the petitioners, however, told the international community, then, that the MRU and the ECOWAS regions and the continent of Africa, need to be firmly placed towards a fortress of democratic pluralism as CSOs, human rights and pro-democracy institutions and activists in the sub-region, and across African Continent remain resolved to fully support good governance, and will never tolerate or allow democracy to be thwarted by any re-emerging 21st century military and political dinosaurs.
Member organizations of PdG that made the petition presentation included Better Future Foundation (BFF), Harvest International (HI), Foundation for International Dignity (FIND), New African Research & Development Agency (NARDA), Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Regional Watch for Human Rights (RWHR), Rights & Rice Foundation (RRF), Rural Human Rights Activists Program (RHRAP), Women Beyond Borders (WBB), Youth Beyond Barriers (YBB), and Student Representatives who previously submitted said petition to the Liberian Legislature, the Embassy of Sweden, ECOWAS, among other members of the International Community.
The petitioners sought the international community’s “urgent and timely intervention to put an immediate stop to the emergence of a dangerous political trend primarily characterized by the violations or manipulations of the country’s constitutions by some incumbent African leaders, aimed at perpetuating themselves in state power not only at the annoyance and detriment of their respective citizens, but also at the detriment of the peace, stability and progress of their countries and the entire African continent.”
“The PdG is convinced that the attempts to manipulate constitutions by some leaders in the sub region aimed at perpetuating themselves in power is tantamount to undermining the efforts of ECOWAS and the AU, to abort undemocratic seizures of power and impose themselves on the African Continent,” the petitioners further said.
According to the consortium, in recent years, an increasing number of sitting or incumbent African Presidents or Heads of State have embarked on what clearly appears to be an affront to democracy, calculated and deliberate invitation to coup d’etats, authoritarianism, and dictatorship as they stage-manage constitutional amendments to reward themselves third term presidency, a wanton violation of the existing constitutions of their respective countries, which limit all incumbent presidents to a two-term presidential tenure and as also enshrined in the Lome Declaration, formalized in the AU’s Constitutive Act and further elaborated in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.”
In said petition, PdG also referenced the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance which prohibits any amendment or revision of the constitution or legal instruments that constitute “an infringement on the principles of democratic change of government” or what is generally referred to in Africa as “constitutional coup d’etat.” (Article 23.5.).
“The Partners for Democracy & Good Governance strongly believes that full respect for, and adherence to the Lome Declaration, which encompasses a range of different acts and tasks relating to countering coups and other unlawful and undemocratic power grabs in the MRU and ECOWAS sub-regions and on the Continent of Africa, cannot be over-emphasized,” the petition further indicated.
The pro-democracy, human rights and civil society group made further references to Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives and Article 3 sections (c), (f), (g) and (h) of the Lome Declaration which also calls for promotion of peace, security, popular participation, good governance, political and socio-economic integration.
The petition which was read on behalf of PdG by BFF President, Augustine Arkoi, also rallied the support of more pro-democracy institutions, human rights and civil society organizations in the MRU and ECOWAS region and beyond to rise to the occasion in defense and protection of participatory democracy.
Making remarks at the petitioning ceremony, the President of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Mr. Charles Coffey, denounced attempts by some African leaders to stage-manage amendments of their countries’ constitution to seek third term tenures aimed at perpetuating themselves in power.
Mr. Coffey stressed the need for the US government and other members of the international community to find remedy to the situation so as to maintain the peace, stability and development of countries in Africa and particularly the ECOWAS and the MRU regions which are recovering from decades of bloody armed conflicts, and life-threatening health crises, among others.
The PUL President therefore stressed the need to maintain the peace and stability of the ECOWAS region in the best interest of its people.
Also speaking at the occasion, Mr. Stephen Russell, Director for Education and Scholarship of the Liberia National Students Union (LINSU), said instability, dictatorship, and other acts of bad governance which often lead to civil wars, up-risings, protests, among others in any country are inimical to maintaining peace and security in the sub-region, and that such actions pose threat to the learning process of students.
“This is why LINSU finds it reasonable to partner with PdG in reiterating calls for African leaders to respect and adhere to provisions of the countries’ constitutions and other statutory provisions aimed at enhancing inclusive and participatory democracy and good governance at all times,” he stressed.
It can be recalled that at least 10 civil society organizations (CSOs), in September 2020, signed a ten-count Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), in Monrovia to promote strategic collaboration through advocacy to foster national and regional peace and security consolidation, and concomitantly promote democratic governance, adherence to, and respect for the rule of law as well as regional integration and development.
PdG is an alliance and network of regional CSOs, and prodemocracy organizations that are dedicated to promoting good governance, human rights and the rule of law within the MRU and ECOWAS region.