Tournons La Page (TLP), an international citizen movement, says it is hopeful that Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo will attend the third West African Citizen Summit (SCOA) 2024, currently ongoing in Accra and scheduled to end on Tuesday, August 27.
The summit, which started in 2021, acknowledges Presidents on the continent who have successfully transitioned and transferred power to an incoming government.
SCOA is a regional initiative that gathers stakeholders from West African countries to discuss and address common challenges facing the region. The summit provides a platform for dialogue on issues such as governance, development, and human rights.
TLP has been vocal about advocating for term limits in various countries across Africa. The movement argues that term limits are crucial for preventing the entrenchment of power and ensuring regular democratic renewal. They see term limits as a way to uphold democratic principles and prevent the emergence of authoritarian regimes.
Like has been done after the summits, the President of the host nation is handed over the baton of term limits to continue to promote their adoption and enforcement to support democratic stability and prevent the concentration of power.
Previous recipients are Patrice Talon, President of the Republic of Benin in 2021, took up the baton of term limits, pledging his commitment to leave power at the end of his current second term. His counterpart from the Republic of Botswana, Dr. Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi, took over in 2022.
The Coordinator of Tournons La Page in Togo and Director of the summit, Professor David Ekoué Dosseh said he believes President Akuffo Addo will be part of this year’s event.
“The President of the Republic of Ghana could surprise us, as his counterpart from Benin did in 2021. Against all odds, he arrived at the Congress Palace in Cotonou, where the second summit was taking place. He agreed to take up the baton of term limits in front of the participants and made a reassuring speech”.
According to Dosseh, attempts to reach President Akuffo Addo to hand over the Baton of Term Limits has proved futile.
Given the current context and the difficulties facing ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), and the deep aspirations of the people who are calling insistently for the adoption of the principle of term limits in the organization’s instruments, to prevent the social and political crises that are putting it to the test, it would be an important decision for President Nana Akufo-Addo to materialize his commitment by receiving the Baton of Term Limits.
Source: Tournons La Page
