African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance

The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ADC) is a document adopted by member states of the African Union (AU) on January 30, 2007, in order to promote liberal democracy and human rights in Africa.[1] It is the first binding document adopted by members of the African Union. Among its provisions are several aimed at combating unconstitutional regime changes, including the first legal instrument adopted by the AU acknowledging that constitutional coups are a form of unconstitutional regime change.[2]

Cameroon and Burkina Faso, two semi-authoritarian countries,[3][4] have ratified the ADC, indicating that adoption of the charter on its own is not enough to prevent authoritarianism in Africa.[2]

Background

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The supranational organization which preceded the AU, the Organization of African Unity, had a similar accord called the Declaration on the Framework for OAU Response to Unconstitutional Changes in Government, or the "Lomé Declaration," for short. Under the Lomé Declaration, the OAU was equipped with an official framework to deal with unconstitutional changes of government in Africa. However, the Declaration was largely ineffective due to a number of reasons, including that the Lomé Declaration was not legally binding, it failed to create a framework for democratizing authoritarian countries, it defined unconstitutional changes narrowly, excluding constitutional coups, and it failed to create sufficient enforcement mechanisms.[2] The ADC would later attempt to address some of these problems by making the charter binding and including constitutional coups in its mandate, for example.

The ADC was also preceded by a number of AU instruments which had similar goals of promoting democracy, protecting human rights, and preventing unconstitutional regime changes. Among these are the Constitutive Act of the AU, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, and the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption.[2]

Adoption by member states

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Adopted in 2007, the charter only came into effect on February 15, 2012.[5][6] Signature and ratification by member states, however, has been a slow and continual process since the charter's inception. Many of the more authoritarian member states of the African Union were unwilling to ratify the ADC because of its expansive provisions designed to encourage liberal democracy.[7] By 2009, 29 of 55 member states had signed the ADC, and only three had ratified it.[6]

In order for a member state to adopt the charter, the head of state must sign the charter during an AU meeting, at which point it may be ratified. However, the ratification process is often prohibitively complicated, especially in states which lack the political will to adopt the charter in the first place.[1] Ratification typically requires significant input from all key government and non-governmental stakeholders and often involves making preemptive costly adjustments to national institutions to be in accordance with the principles of the charter.[1]

Of the 55 member states that make up the African Union, 46 have signed, 34 have ratified, and 34 have deposited.

Dates of Signature, Ratification/Accession, and Deposit as of 2019[6]
Country Date of Signature Date of Ratification Date of Deposit
Algeria 14/07/2012 20/11/2017 10/01/2017
Angola 27/01/2021 - -
Benin 16/07/2007 28/06/2012 11/07/2012
Botswana - - -
Burkina Faso 02/08/2007 26/05/2010 06/07/2010
Burundi 20/06/2007 - -
Cameroon - 24/08/2011 16/01/2012
Central African Republic 28/06/2008 24/04/2017 06/03/2019
Cape Verde 27/01/2012 - -
Chad 22/01/2009 11/07/2011 13/10/2011
Côte d'Ivoire 11/06/2009 16/10/2013 28/11/2013
Comoros 02/02/2010 30/11/2016 06/01/2017
Congo 18/06/2007 - -
Djibouti 15/06/2007 02/12/2012 22/01/2013
Democratic Republic of Congo 29/06/2008 - -
Egypt - - -
Equatorial Guinea 30/01/2011 - -
Eritrea - - -
Ethiopia 28/12/2007 05/12/2008 06/01/2009
Gabon 02/02/2010 - -
Gambia 29/01/2008 11/06/2018 04/02/2019
Ghana 15/01/2008 06/09/2010 19/10/2010
Guinea-Bissau 17/06/2008 23/12/2011 04/01/2012
Guinea 09/05/2007 17/06/2011 11/07/2011
Kenya 28/06/2008 - -
Libya - - -
Lesotho 17/03/2010 30/06/2010 09/07/2010
Liberia 18/06/2008 23/02/2014 07/03/2017
Madagascar 31/01/2014 23/02/2017 13/04/2017
Mali 29/06/2007 13/08/2013 02/09/2013
Malawi - 11/10/2012 24/10/2012
Morocco - - -
Mozambique 27/05/2010 24/04/2018 09/05/2018
Mauritania 29/01/2008 07/07/2008 28/07/2008
Mauritius 14/12/2007 - -
Namibia 10/05/2007 23/08/2016 30/08/2016
Nigeria 02/07/2007 01/12/2011 09/01/2012
Niger 17/06/2008 04/10/2011 08/11/2011
Rwanda 29/06/2007 09/07/2010 14/07/2010
South Africa 01/02/2010 24/12/2010 24/01/2011
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 25/07/2010 27/11/2013 27/01/2014
Senegal 15/12/2008 - -
Seychelles - 12/08/2016 28/09/2016
Sierra Leone 17/06/2008 17/02/2009 08/12/2009
South Sudan 24/01/2013 26/01/2014 13/04/2015
São Tomé and Príncipe 01/02/2010 18/04/2019 27/06/2019
Sudan 30/06/2008 19/06/2013 16/09/2013
Eswatini 29/01/2008 - -
Tanzania - - -
Togo 30/10/2007 24/01/2012 20/03/2012
Tunisia 27/01/2013 - -
Uganda 16/12/2008 - -
Zambia 31/01/2010 31/05/2011 08/07/2011
Zimbabwe 21/03/2018 - -

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c ISSAfrica.org. "A tortuous road for the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance". ISS Africa. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  2. ^ a b c d Elvy, Stacy-Ann. "Towards A New Democratic Africa: The African Charter on Democracy, Elections And Governance" (PDF). Emory International Law Review. 27: 41–117 – via Emory Law.
  3. ^ Examining the U.S. Policy Response to Entrenched African Leadership: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on African Affairs of the S. Comm. on Foreign Relations, 112th Cong. 39, 43 n.5 (2012) (statement of Christopher Fomunyoh, Senior Associate & Regional Director for Central and West Africa, National Democratic Institute)
  4. ^ Burkina Faso: Freedom in the World 2012, FREEDOM HOUSE, http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2012/burkina-faso
  5. ^ African Union, List of Countries Which Have Signed, Ratified/Acceded to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (January 17, 2012), http://www.chr.up.ac.za/images/files/news/news_2012/african_charter_democracy_governance.pdf [hereinafter Ratification Status of the ADC].
  6. ^ a b c "List of Countries Which Have Signed, Ratified/Acceded the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance" (PDF). African Union. 28 June 2019.
  7. ^ "AU turns down democracy charter". 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2021-03-19.

Submission for Review

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