OP01/2018
Presidential Term Limits and Democratic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract

Africa is home to most of the nascent countries in the world. It is also home to seven of the ten longest serving presidents, all of them have been in power for at least 20 years. Constitutional two-term limits for presidents were introduced to foster democratic de- velopment. However, this change has not been permanent. Ten African leaders have successfully derogated the law to stay in of ce. We rely on recent literature to explain the advantages and constraints of such limits. Two-term limits are indeed helpful, but not a central policy for the democratic development of Sub-Saharan countries.

Keywords
Democracy, Term Limits, Elections, Sub-Saharan Africa