Dr. Lassane Ouedraogo delivers remarks on behalf of Idayat Hassan, WADEMOS Steering C'ttee Co-chair
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- During the early 1990s, following the end of the Cold War, a wave of significant democratic reforms swept through various political systems in West Africa. The institutional changes of what has been referred to as the third wave of democracy resulted in establishing rule-of-law-based governance systems characterized by constitutionalism and constitutional government, including reforms such as term limits. However, in more recent years, there has been an alarming democratic backsliding with the return of military rule, and the manipulation of constitutions and electoral outcomes for term extensions in a region that once touted itself as a beacon of democracy. The region has also been hit by instability in the Sahel region with a surge in the activities of violent extremists, and attacks on basic
freedoms and civil liberties.
The spate of this deterioration is even more alarming in francophone West Africa over the last decade. Since the beginning of 2019, the region has suffered 8 coups (five successful and three failed). Two in Mali (2020 and 2021), one in Guinea (2021), and two in Burkina Faso (Jan. 2022 and Sept. 2022). Between 2020 and 2022, countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, and Guinea succeeded in extending their stay in power beyond their constitutional mandates. President Patrice Talon of Benin has signaled
clear reservations towards democratic norms and values2. In Senegal, there is growing apprehension about the rise in suppression of the political and civic space, including violence against opposition figures as evidenced by various democracy indicators watchdogs.
To this end, WADEMOS, a transnational civil society network convened a multi-stakeholder regional dialogue to discuss democratic reversals in the sub-region with a special focus on francophone West Africa and the ongoing political transitions in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso. This event took place from August 1 - 2, 2023, in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
