Presidential term limits for African countries

A reporter with america.gov asked me several months ago to comment on a story he was doing about elections in Africa. He used most of my remarks in his story. The staff at america.gov liked both the article and my contribution and asked that I do a stand alone piece of my choosing about democracy for the america.gov blog. Term limits have long bothered me, as they are too often observed in the breach. Either a country's constitution does not contain term limits or the leader, upon reaching the end of his/her prescribed time in office, asks that the constitution be changed to permit another term. Although clearly not limited to Africa (witness the most recent effort in Honduras), it has been a particular problem there. To read my blog post, titled "Presidential Term Limits for African Countries," click here.