The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has charged members of the Parliament of ECOWAS to find solutions to the emerging re-militarisation of governance, the attempted confiscation of democracy by elites and the wanton desire to destroy democracy by terrorist groups and armed criminal gangs in the region.
Stating what he described as three serious threats to democracy in the region, President Akufo-Addo said, “democracy in West Africa is in danger”, thus the regional fraternity “must work even harder to entrench the principles of democratic accountability in the citizenry.”
According to President Akufo-Addo, democracy in the region has been seriously subverted by “the attempted confiscation of democracy by elites, who engage, through legal antics, in the manipulation of constitutional rules and the subjugation of the institutions of the Republic with the sole aim of remaining in power.”
He added that another key threat is “the emerging re-militarisation of governance with the intrusion, once again, of the military on the political scene, who have neither consulted, nor received any mandate from, the people on whose behalf they purport to act.”
The President did not hesitate to also mention “the wanton desire to destroy democracy by terrorist groups and armed criminal gangs, who seek to establish zones of lawlessness and the absence of freedom” as another deliberate threat to the democratic stability of the region.
Referring to the great British wartime leader, Winston Spencer Churchill’s statement that “democracy is the worst form of governance, except for all the others”, he stated that “modern history has taught us that tyranny, oppression, and totalitarian government do not last long. No matter how a people apparently reject democracy and civil liberty, circumstances would always force them back to embrace them.”
President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that “we cannot run away from the fact that our Region is confronted with a difficult economic, political, social and security situation. As all of us know, despite the considerable progress made by the Community, in the areas of democracy, good governance and the rule of law since the early 1990s, which meant that, four (4) years ago, all fifteen (15) leaders of ECOWAS States were democratically elected, we are, at the moment, witnessing a decline in our democratic credentials.”
President Akufo-Addo was addressing the 2nd Ecowas Parliamentary Seminar, in Winneba, on Friday, 29th September, 2023, under the theme, “Challenges Relating to Unconstitutional Changes of Government and Presidential Term Limits in West Africa - Role of the ECOWAS Parliament.”
Describing the prevalent situation as bitter and implacable, he said, “today, four ECOWAS Member States are led by military governments as a result of coups d'états. This sad and unfortunate development has created a state of palpable anxiety and tension in every corner of the region, raising the spectre of regional instability, which we thought had been banished forever. Equally abhorrent is the culture of violence and disputes that characterise the periods of electing some of our leaders.
Mentioning the election of Mohammed Bazoum in Niger as a recognition of the common will of the people, he said “that is why the coup against him is particularly tragic for the consolidation of democracy in our region” and added that, “the only legitimacy for any leader is through a mandate that is given freely by the people in a fair, peaceful and transparent election. This is the most tangible and objective way to know and recognize the common will, which is the will of the people.”
That is why, he continued, “any attempt at the manipulation of opinion and of the rules of the democratic game for partisan political ends always leads to a loss of legitimacy, which is reflected in the social tensions it creates. We must distinguish between legality and legitimacy, because our region will only experience genuine stability if our powers are imbued with both legality and legitimacy.”
“The true purpose of democratic governance is to obtain the objective of free government, shared prosperity and progress, equitable and accessible justice and lasting peace for the wellbeing of the citizenry, he added.
He called on the ECOWAS legislators to ensure that one of the expected outcomes is to help “us understand even better the root causes of democratic regression and political instability in the region in order the better to address them, and speak against the extension of presidential term limits by some leaders to strengthen their grip on power.
“These actions tend to result in discontent amongst the populace, which create fertile grounds on which military interventions disingenuously feed,” he observed.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
This tsupid, short, evil, blocked-headed ediot! You are the reason why I would choose coups any day! Look at the way you and your cousin have mismanaged the economy! The effrontery these corrupt regimes have in condemning coups without even a mention of bad governance is annoying! You and your family and cronies are stealing and robbing the nation and you think Ghanaians should sit down and watch? Look at the number of lives and businesses you have destroyed! Ghana is definitely due a coup! Good and accountable governance is the foundation on which democracy is built. Get that into that empty and arrogant skull of yours!
@the last commenter before this. You're surely a party slave who doesn't have the ability to use the brain that God has given you. Who has said anything about military takeovers or averts that they're the best options for any nation? People have commented on the hypocrisy of your slave master who says all the nice things in front of people but does all the evil things in darkness. Is that not the case? Nobody will hate their president, but when your president is not living up to expectations, especially when they are deliberately doing the wrong things, they must be talked about and the peoples power withdrawn from such. People like you are the reason why we are where we are, because politicians always count on you by default, we pray that most of your kind will begin to utilise their brain.
Let me ask you STupiiiiiiiiiid People a question what good has the Military take overs in the west African region done to their various countries. Just mention one. they also come as if they going to redeem their people from democratic elected government but rather become worse than what it was, raping, ***barred word***, killing, etc, and in the long run contest an election rig it and will become an elected president. and back to the same democracy, Morooooons
Dangerous man, he and his cabals are dangerous to our democracy, dangerous to our economy and dangerous to our existence, the only to have proper good riddance after his exit of power is to clear all his apparatchiks especially Bawumia, that failure should be shown a massive red card to send signal to irresponsible politicians. He's desperate to become president and has thrown away his sense of judgement. People are being disabled in an elections for his sake and he's happy about it. Samira can't wait to become a first lady from stolen elections to mislead our young girls into kokooase fashion. God forbid these heartless entities
Who made western so called democracy as the only system of government? You are comfortable with a system that allow you to be puppet of the west in exchange of your riches and protection so you think everyone must be fine by it. How long do you ethics will last? You are dreaming Mr. President.
YES WHEN YOU TAKE THE COUNTRY AND LOOTH EVERYTHING THE CITIZENS AND THE MILITARY WOULD COME AFTER YOU?ITS ONLY ***barred word*** WHO SAYS THE MILITARY HAVE NO SAY IN POLITICS.SO YOU MEAN THE MILITARY SHOULD PROTECT YOU TO STEAL?IT DOESNT WORK THAT WAY THE MILITARY IS RATHER THE KING MAKERS,WHEN YOU DO GOOD THINGS THEY WOULD PROTECT YOU BUT WHEN YOU STEAL THEY WOULD OVERTHROW YOU.DEMOCRACY IS ACTUALLY A TOOL FOR CORRUPTION
@Peters, don't worry yourself about these hypocrites. On one hand, they have an idea about the problems they have created themselves, yet they continue to flame up the problems more, but when they get the opportunity, they speak big English, apportioning the blames to others so they appear innocent themselves. This man cannot even manage democracy in his own political party, see the chaos within the NPP, and obnoxiously he pretends not to be aware of such, yet he's the biggest culprit. In Ghana today, under a man who got into power through the effects of demonstrations, no one can demonstrate freely without any havoc and scenery created by the police and the political courts. Where lies the good practice of democracy in Ghana? State institutions have been captured under him, EC filled with party people with the aim to rig the elections just as happened in Nigeria recently, the courts are worse, a whole CJ stares at the main opposition leader in a very disparaging and suspicious manner as if he were not a human being, should we expect any fairness and objective rulings from such political appointees?
You won't believe it but it is true that too many towns in Ghana don't have access to MTN and Vodafone services. Because of this when people travel to their hometowns they can only spend a few days, because they need to leave in order to use WhatsApp or receive phone calls. Most people in Accra aren't from Accra. Accra is the capital, so they come here to work mostly for the government. When they retire they go back to their hometowns. Some wish to visit their hometowns as often as possible, and so the connectivity problem must be addressed.
Why won't democracy in West Africa be in danger? The action and inaction of most presidents in the sub region is what is motivating the military to step in to stop the non sense. How come that the very people who waste precious man hours to queue to vote in democratic elections are same people who pour into the streets in support of the military when they "strike "? Which soldier in Zambia will want to overthrow a transparent president like Hakainde Hichilema? This is a man who has refused to buy new cars for the presidency since he took over. He has directed all majors in Zambia to use pickups. He says " if any government appointee wants a Land cruiser V8, buy your own " He doesn't see why government appointees will be using V8's when there are no public toilets in the markets. Immediately he won the elections, he was asked to sign for some 1.5 million dollars for new cars to be procured for his inauguration, he refused. This is enough to tell any Zambian that this man is in to serve not to s t e a l from his people. The Malawian president equally directed on of his ministers to refund Covid 19 monies he used for other purposes rather than Covid 19 related expenditures in addition to directing that he be prosecuted. Who will want to overthrow such a selfless president. Nobody pull a gun on any body to make promises during electioneering campaigns, people vote for you based on these promises, you come in and now try to give non sen si cal explanations as to why those promises can't be met. What do you take the people for? block heads, ***barred word*** s, etc. If your country's constitution makes provision for two terms for the president and you want to twist the arms of your people to change the constitution and go for a third term, soldiers will overthrow you. If you come into government and it a family business, soldiers will kick you out. If you take billions as loans from foreign countries and the people can't see what those loans were used for, soldiers will come in and the people will take to the streets in support. Democracy didn't ask anybody to hide behind it to dissipate the resources of a country that belongs to all. Why are there no coups in America, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Spain ( Europe) but Africa especially West Africa? The next time African presidents go to the United Nations general assembly meeting, they should ask their colleague presidential from these countries this simple question, " Why is it that your soldiers ( America and Europe soldiers) don't take guns to chase you out of office like our(Africa) soldiers do? They will give you the answer. Nobody's conscience will deceive you. If you are doing the wrong thing, you know. The people can see and hear, they are not small boys and girls, if you are running your country honestly, they know. If you have nothing to hide, you should have nothing to fear, like the current Zambian and Malawian presidents.