Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Akufo-Addo has asked the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to address the issue of leaders changing their countries' constitutions to facilitate their prolonged stay in power.
Akufo-Addo says such actions trigger anger in the society and "create fertile grounds on which military interventions disingenuously feed."
The Ghanaian leader spoke on Friday in the southern Ghana town of Winneba, where ECOWAS's parliament is holding its session.
ECOWAS lawmakers have convened under the theme "Challenges Relating to Unconstitutional Changes of Government and Presidential Term Limits in West Africa – Role of the ECOWAS Parliament."
Akufo-Addo says a sober discussion on presidential term limits would ensure that the citizens don’t "give up" on democracy.
Failed attempts
He called out leaders who use "legal antics" to "manipulate constitutional rules and subjugate public institutions with the sole aim of remaining in power."
Akufo-Addo's remarks come after several leaders, within ECOWAS and outside the bloc, changed their countries' constitutions to allow them seek re-election without legal hurdles.
Gabon, the Central African Republic, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea are some of the countries whose leaders changed the constitution to allow them seek re-election.
ECOWAS heads of state had previously attempted to restrict presidents to a maximum of two terms in office, but the proposal was never adopted. Three such attempts were defeated, including one in 2015.
One of ECOWAS's parliament's key roles is to "promote and defend principles of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, transparency, accountability and good governance."
The ECOWAS parliament has 115 lawmakers drawn from the 15 member states.
