Presidency

Presidential elections in Sierra Leone

Upphovsperson:	Utas, Mats
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	Sierra Leone, elections, political parties, democracy, Presidency, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

On August 11 Sierra Leone will vote democratically for the second timesince the end of the decade long civil war that raged between 1991 and 2002. Many international observers believe that this election is an important testfor democracy in Sierra Leone. Many Sierra Leoneans call democracy Demare-Crazy and politics politrix.

The succession of Faure Gnassingbe to the Togolese presidency : an international law perspective

Upphovsperson:	Ebeku, Kaniye S. A.
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2005
Ämnesord:	Presidency, Heads of state, inheritance, elections, democracy, constitutions, international law, Togo, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The African renaissance - the renewal of the continent - effectively started in the last decade of the second millennium. A critical element is the increasing and widespread democratic awakening in all parts of Africa since the early 1990s as evidenced by the number of multi-party elections. Demonstrating their commitment to democracy, African leaders, under the auspices of regional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), have increasingly made a number of treaties, declarations and other political commitments in the field of democracy and good governance (including the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the Declaration on Africa’s Response to Unconstitutional Changes of Government). Significantly, the recent politico-constitutional crisis in Togo, occasioned by the sudden death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema in early February 2005, after he had ruled the country with an iron-fist for 38 years, and the interim succession of his son, Faure Gnassingbe, to the presidency, raised issues of democracy and good governance and provided an opportunity for African countries to test the effectiveness of the various democracy-related instruments. Adopting a legal-jurisprudential perspective, the author skillfully examines the contradictions between the regional-international legal instruments that permit interference in the internal affairs of a Member State of ECOWAS and AU and the principles of international law that provide for sovereign equality of States and non-interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign State. Undoubtedly, this work will interest scholars, students and researchers in international law, international politics and international relations as well as general readers, especially those interested in African affairs. CONTENT Introduction Politico-Constitutional Antecedents of the Recent Developments Regional Instruments on Democratic Principles in Africa Some Basic Principles of International Law: In a Nutshell Faure’s Succession: Validity of the Removal of Fambare Ouattara Natchaba from Office Faure’s Succession and Legality of Constitutional Amendment Faure’s Succession and the Doctrine of State Necessity Faure’s Succession and Regional Instruments on Democracy and Good Governance Concluding Remarks References