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Cape Town – Former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano says two-term limits are too short for African leaders to implement their policies and ideas.
According to Newzimbabwe.com, Chissano who was addressing a SADC lawyers' forum in Victoria Falls, said he did not subscribe to two-term limits for African leaders.
He however, said the leaders should not stay "more than enough".
Chissano was elected president of Mozambique in 1986 following the death of Samora Machel in a plane crash. He subsequently won the first multi-party elections held in 1994 before winning re-election in 1999.
He however, voluntarily decided not to stand in the 2004 elections.
Democracy and good governance
Presidential term limits, most often two terms, are a common feature of democratic constitutions adopted in Africa in the 1990s. However, not all politicians subscribe to the importance of a two-term presidency, according to Africa files.org.
Chissano urged the SADC Lawyers Association to support their governments in promoting rule of law, democracy and good governance through drafting relevant model laws.
According to The Herald, Chissano cited several declarations adopted by African States in their quest to ensure the rule of law, democracy and good government, saying the implementation was still the biggest challenge.
The report comes at a time Zimbabwean's Robert Mugabe continues to cling to power despite having ruled the country for more than three decades.
Mugabe, 90, who has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, won the country's elections last year and seems ready to contest the next polls in 2018.
