Extending or reducing term limits: which way should Africa take?

Juma Nkamia, MP (Chemba-CCM) raised eyebrows recently when he expressed his intention of tabling a Private Bill in the National Assembly in Dodoma to seek the extension of political term limits from five to seven years; changes which will affect the presidency and parliamentarians.

According to media reports, Mr Nkamia (pictured) cited the financial burden of running nationwide elections in a space of two years (local elections and general election). He pointed to Rwanda as a country with a seven year political term to its politicians.

Few days later another MP, John Heche, (Tarime Urban-Chadema) said he too planned to propose a reduction on the political term limits from the current five years to four years to emulate ‘the most democratic country in the world”.

There are many who have ridiculed these two plans where in the case of Mr Nkamia’s proposal there is no shortage of those who wondered out aloud as to what could be driving his proposal, others claiming that this is an avenue headed towards a total removal of term limits altogether.

Those worried have a learnt a thing from Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni who has been in power for three decades and counting. He did away with term limits, and now there are attempts for a constitutional change in Uganda to do away with age limit to the holder of the presidency.

His opponents see this as a road headed towards a lifetime presidency.

With regard to Mr Heche’s (pictured) proposal, he has been ridiculed as to have not thought it through and just imitating Mr Nkamia’s proposal in reverse. His detractors point out that with numbers in parliament on CCM’s side, his proposal will never pass.

The current system of five years was inherited from the British and the long ruling party adopted the same system in its elections.

Other countries like France, changed from a seven year term to five year term but the reasons behind such a move were complicated.

Even Rwanda, which Mr Nkamia referenced will be a five year term country in the future courtesy of the constitutional changes in 2015.

This means that in the future there will be no country in the region with a political term that lasts more than five years.

That financial costs are heavy fails to consider the other side of the costs for extending political terms of our politicians.

A president can be removed from office for different reasons.

However voters have no way of holding to accountable their parliamentarians who fail to fulfil their duties except waiting for the next election.

To voters who are powerless once elections are over, to extend a political term from five years to seven years is more costly to them and their long term development.

Before 2015 general election, a study had found out that almost half of parliamentarians would not be making a return to Dodoma after the general election because those they represented thought they had done a poor job for the past five years.

This time around as well politicians have not done us any favours or performed their jobs to the point of warranting more time in office.

This too will further increase voters’ apathy, reducing people’s participation in the democratic processes.

As things stand many people do not show up to cast their ballots and with a lifespan not beyond 60 years, a seven year political term will be a lifetime for most voters.

Since 1995 during the first multiparty general election, voter registration has increased but that has not translated in the votes cast which are far lower than the number of those registered to vote.

And there is a more practical solution to cutting costs by syncing local elections and the general election so that they are held together.

Because of the gravity of the changes proposed, and the fact that politicians cannot be trusted to have the best interests of the people at heart in this matter a referendum is needed.

Being stuck with politicians who cannot be held accountable for seven years will feel like being trapped for a lifetime in a dysfunctional marriage.