by RAZI AZMI
Ugandan lawmakers fight in the Parliament in Kampala on September 26, 2017 over the presidential age limit amendment bill. Some were opposed to the debate on the proposal to change the constitution to extend the president’s rule. PHOTO/Nation Media Group
In our this 21st century, military coups have become rare, presidents for life have become an extinct species and shameless dictators, despots and autocrats with no end date are an endangered species. It will be a while, however, before the latter type become altogether extinct. In some countries, leaders find it possible to defy not only the law of the land, but also the laws of both political and physical wear and tear to prolong their stay at the top.
For a good many years, a Damocles sword had hung over Pakistan in the shape of the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty). While the NPT-related danger has now passed, the country continues to be tormented by MPT (Manipulated Power Transfer).
Their popularity and mandate notwithstanding, elected heads of government in Pakistan have found it impossible to complete one term, let alone seek a second term. Powers that be, often referred to as the Establishment or the Deep State, decide who comes, who goes, when and how.
What follows is manipulated power transfer, hidden from public view but obvious to everyone. Beginning in the early years of the founding of the state, the process of covert manipulation of the political process continues unabated.
But in some countries, leaders find it possible to defy not only the law of the land, but also the laws of both political and physical wear and tear to prolong their stay at the top.
The Ugandan parliament recently descended into a brawl when opposition members resisted an attempt by the government to lift the constitutional age limit on the head of state. This would allow the incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni, to run again for a sixth term. He has been in office since 1986.
Once upon a time, throughout the world, rulers had no term limits and they never had to stand for re-election. The reign of kings, queens and chiefs was only terminated by death or murder, and only occasionally by abdication or peaceful overthrow. But times have changed. Now, elected governments have become the norm, absolute monarchies or downright dictatorships the exception.
But in Asia, Africa and South America, the rule of law is frequently flouted, and elections are postponed, cancelled or rigged by the incumbent who has no desire to go. Sometimes, long-time despots have been overthrown by military officers, high and low, from general to sergeant, who seized power through the barrel of the gun. They promised reform, redemption and election, but then transformed into just another dictator determined to hang on, whatever it takes.
Razia Azmi for more