Africa: 2022 – Extended Worrisome Blight On Democracy in West Africa read full article at worldnews365.me

The yr 2022 began with army takeover of presidency in Burkina Faso in January, adopted by a reported putsch in Guinea Bissau in February, which President Umaro Sissoco Embalo mentioned he survived, with each occasions reinforcing the troubling resurgence of army incursions and democratic regression in West Africa.

The January 2022 army coup led by Lt.-Col Henri-Paul Sandaogo Damiba towards the federal government of elected President Christian Marc Kabore in Burkina Faso, adopted the now acquainted sample, which Col Assimi Goita and his fellow younger officers utilized in August 2020 to topple the federal government of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali. Goita staged one other coup towards the transitional authorities wherein he served as vice President in Could 2021, and the army in neighbouring Guinea led by Col Mamady Doumbouya additionally snatched the badge of undemocratic infamy by sacking the federal government of President Alpha Conde in September, the identical yr.

As if these weren’t sufficient, 34-year-old Capt. Ibrahim Traore dismissed his senior army comrade Lt.-Col Damiba and seized energy in Burkina Faso in September 2022, and to finish the regional undemocratic chapter in 2022, the federal government of President AdamaBarrow within the Gambia, mentioned his authorities foiled a coup try on twentieth December.

Earlier than then, a coup try had been reported in Niger Republic in March 2021 forward of the inauguration of newly elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

These six nations like lots of the 15-nation Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS), are not any strangers to army coups. Certainly, army dictatorships had been in vogue, earlier than the wind of multiparty democracy swept by way of Africa from the early Nineties.

With Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso at present underneath army rule, and given the frequency of military incursions and the extent of insecurity and instability, there may be the worry that the area is sliding again to its notorious previous because the epicentre of political unrest or “coup zone” of Africa.

However what are root causes of the democratic regression within the ECOWAS area, which prided itself with worldwide acclaim in battle prevention, administration and determination?

Shortly after its formation on twenty eighth Could 1975, the regional bloc, set as much as foster financial growth and regional integration was dogged by peace and safety challenges, however to their credit score, regional leaders at the moment rose to the event. Amongst Africa’s Regional Financial Communities (RECs), ECOWAS, now with a mixed estimated inhabitants of 400 million folks of various cultures, languages and governance methods, nonetheless managed to blaze the path in key growth indicators.

However a lot of these good points have been eroded, particularly previously 20 years by unhealthy governance, characterised by gross human rights violations, corruption, flawed elections, disregard for nationwide constitutions and non-compliance with regional protocols and devices.

Whereas financial growth was its core goal, actuality knowledgeable the injection of peace and safety into the regional integration agenda, ranging from 1990 when the Authority of Heads of State and Authorities directed the switch of the accountability for ECOWAS affairs to the Ministries of Overseas Affairs or Regional Integration adopted by the transformation from an Government Secretariat to a Fee in 2007.

A politico-military Standing Mediation Committee and the ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) had been created in 1990 to spearhead regional interventions and these facilitated the top of the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone adopted by a typical stance on political governance. The ECOWAS Group Court docket was additionally established by way of one other protocol in 1990 and all these measures had been instrumental in permitting the Organisation to imagine the dynamic posture, which it had projected till just lately.

There was additionally the Authority’s Declaration on Political Rules in 1991 to reaffirm the Group’s dedication to democracy and free market. To realize uniformity on the roadmap to integration, there was the ECOWAS Revised Treaty in 1993, which created the Group Parliament and different establishments, conferring supranational standing on ECOWAS.

In December 1999, the Authority enacted the Protocol referring to the Mechanism for Battle Prevention, Administration, Decision, Peacekeeping and Safety (or the Mechanism), to information the development of regional peace and safety structure. Certainly, this impressed the adoption of an identical Mechanism by the African Union a number of years later.

In 2001, the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance was adopted as an integral a part of the Mechanism setting minimal constitutional convergence standards for ECOWAS membership based mostly on shared values of democracy and free market, separation of powers, widespread participation, the democratic management of the armed forces, ensures of fundamental freedoms and, notably, ‘zero tolerance’ for energy obtained or maintained by unconstitutional imply.

To make sure compliance with the normative frameworks and institutional devices, ECOWAS leaders had been very reasonable however agency, sustaining a principled stance with sturdy political will and making use of monumental stress tocheck wayward administrations by way of a mix of sanctions and preventive diplomacy earlier than the reversals of the previous 20 years.

As a part of its battle prevention framework, ECOWAS has an Early Warning system underneath a directorate that collaborates with state and non-state actors, particularly NGOs for the monitoring of threats to peace and safety within the area. The Group’s preventive diplomacy mechanism additionally consists of the availability for a Council of the Smart or Elders.

Utilizing the carrot and stick technique, ECOWAS had suspended three of its member States -Guinea, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire between 2009 and 2010, for violating the Supplementary Protocol and with the cooperation of the African Union, the United Nations and different companions, the Group additionally restored constitutional order and legality in Guinea, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire, amongst others.

Equally, there have been comparatively peaceable and credible outcomes within the conduct of presidential elections in lots of member States such that till just lately, all ECOWAS nations had been underneath one type of democratic governance or one other, regardless of how imperfect. However that period seems underneath extreme menace.

Likely, the overthrow and killing of Libyan chief Muammar Gadhafi within the 2011 purported inner insurrection with exterior help has made the Sahel the epicentre of insecurity and a haven for terrorists, jihadists and varied armed teams, together with Al-Qaeda and ISIS West Africa Province (ISWAP). There’s additionally the Boko haram in Nigeria and piracy within the Gulf of Guinea.

Thus, the safety scenario within the area continues to be characterised by fragility and unpredictability, and vulnerable to reversals, with ECOWAS wanting reasonably helpless or incapable of arresting the damaging slide.

The preliminary optimism that greeted ECOWAS’ early accomplishments has been changed by disappointment and pessimism with governance establishments rising weaker; coupled with breakdown within the rule of regulation; authoritarianism; tenure elongation syndrome; incapacity or failure of member States to guard or respect human rights; or fulfil their obligations to ECOWAS.

Notably telling is the dearth of political will by the leaders. As an example, underneath the guise of adhering to nationwide constitutions which they alter at will, some ECOWAS leaders have been in a position to rig elections toobtain or maintain themselves in energy, whereas controlling the parliaments; with political opponents silenced; and the judiciary, civil society and the media underneath extreme strictures or emasculated.

The resurgence of army incursions in West Africa is due to this fact reasonably a symptom of the unhealthy governance malaise. However sadly, undue consideration is paid to army coups as the only real unconstitutional perpetrator.

The Supplementary Protocol has 50 Articles coping with sundry points from preventing corruption to poverty alleviation and social dialogue, the function of stakeholders throughout elections, political inclusivity, safety of ladies and kids’s rights and sanctions towards non-compliance with provisions of the protocol.

As an example, Article 1 is on separation of powers; empowerment and strengthening of parliaments and assure of parliamentary immunity; independence of the Judiciary and assure of freedom of members of the Bar, amongst others.

It additionally insists that “the armed forces must be apolitical and under the command of a legally constituted political authority; no serving member of the armed forces may seek to run for elective political; secularism and neutrality of the State in all matters relating to religion; freedom for each individual to practise, within the limits of existing laws, the religion of his/her choice… “

“The State and all its institutions belong to all the citizens; therefore, none of their decisions and actions shall involve any form of discrimination, be it on an ethnic, racial, religion or regional basis,” the article added.

On the conduct of elections, Article 9 states: “The party and/or candidate who loses the elections shall concede defeat to the political party and/or candidate finally declared the winner, following the guidelines and within the deadline stipulated by the law,” whereas Article 10says: “All holders of power at all levels shall refrain from acts of intimidation or harassment against defeated candidates or their supporters.”

Article 19 mentioned: “The armed forces and police shall be non-partisan and shall remain loyal to the nation. The role of the armed forces shall be to defend the independence and the territorial integrity of the State and its democratic institutions.” It additional states that “the police and other security agencies shall be responsible for the maintenance of law and order and the protection of persons and their properties.”

Article 22 states: “The use of arms to disperse non-violent meetings or demonstrations shall be forbidden. Whenever a demonstration becomes violent, only the use of minimal and/or proportionate force shall be authorised; All cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment shall be forbidden; The security forces, while carrying out investigations, shall not disturb or arrest family members or relations of the person presumed guilty or suspected of having committed an offence.”

Article 32 expressly states: “Member States agree that good governance and press freedom are essential for preserving social justice, preventing conflict, guaranteeing political stability and peace and for strengthening democracy,” whereas Article 33: commits member States to “recognise that the rule of law involves not only the promulgation of good laws that are in conformity with the provisions on human rights, but also a good judicial system… “

Making use of the provisions of this Protocol, ECOWAS has since suspended the membership of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso and introduced some focused sanctions towards the coup leaders and their relations as a part of efforts to hasten the return to constitutional order within the three nations. There are additionally some efforts at restoring constitutional order.

However what in regards to the occasions that led to the army coups, comparable to tenure elongation, election rigging, corruption, human rights violations and unlawful alteration of nationwide constitutions, that are additionally frowned upon by the identical Protocols? Whereas army coup stays condemnable and undemocratic, it can’t be one rule for the errant political leaders and one other for coup plotters.

To strengthen regional peace and safety and democratic governance, the regional leaders have referred to as for an pressing evaluation of the Supplementary Protocol, maybe with the aim of inserting time period limitation for the presidency. They’ve additionally prompt the institution of a regional power to intervene, the place needed, whether or not within the space of safety, terrorism or to revive constitutional order in member States.

Even so, the main downside is the obvious lack of political will or capability to make robust selections by political leaders, comparable to telling one another the reality. Funding is also a hindrance to the formation of a regional power, which can solely widen the hole between intension and implementation of choices.

ECOWAS had used the Supplementary Protocol to power a former President in Niger Republic to desert his plan to dissolve the nationwide parliament in 2009. The Group additionally declined recognition of the 2011 presidential election carried out by now-deposed President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia, citing his non-compliance with the regional instrument.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the worldwide financial recession may need taken their toll, however the ECOWAS area, with its wealthy pure and human sources can do higher underneath good governance.

In the meantime, some West African States are nonetheless underneath the big affect of former colonial powers, whose international strategic agendas are foisted on member States. These international powers by their interference, do impede the democratic course of by supporting undemocratic leaders towards the selection of the populations.

Additionally, the corrupting influences of cash in politics, at instances inspired and instigated, amongst others, by exterior companions, is one other worrisome pattern.

However these are all growth challenges that are surmountable with visionary, proactive, selfless, patriotic and people-centred management.

The residents, too, should demand accountability from leaders, whereas all stakeholders, together with the legislature, judiciary, civil society, NGOs, the media and growth companions, should play their components. ECOWAS can nonetheless obtain rather more, if its leaders can concentrate on the lofty goals of the founding fathers and with creativity, making use of what labored for the area previously.

*Paul Ejime, a former Warfare Correspondent, is a Marketing consultant on Strategic Communication, Media Improvement, Governance Points, Peace & Safety and Elections