After five years of campaigning, the African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance (ACDEG) will finally come into force in February after Cameroon became the 15th country to officially deposit its instruments of ratification - following swiftly on the heels of Niger (November 2011), and Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria (January 2012).
Adopted in January 2007, the Charter seeks to promote adherence by each State Party to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights premised upon the supremacy of the constitution and constitutional order - and there is hope that the ratification of the Charter will signal a new era in Africa based on the links between free and fair elections, good governance and promotion of the rule of law.
In a continent that was so long renowned for its military coups and civilian dictators, the coming into force of the ACDEG is another postive step forwards and another sign that Africa is leaving its turbulent and un-democratic past behind. The Charter proclaims a new dawn of democracy rooted in the rule of law.
The African Charter is remarkable in a lot of respects. It reaffirms Africa's commitment to democracy and the rule of law. It clearly abhors unconstitutional change of government and provides in article 25(5) a possible framework for international prosecution of people who forcefully take over government.
It furthers restates the principle of transparency and accountability in government and provides for the independence of the judiciary. It reaffirms the primacy of the rule of law and calls on state parties to initiate appropriate measures, including legislative, executive and administrative actions to bring State Parties' national laws and regulations in conformity with the Charter.
Initially, countries were very slow to ratify the Charter. But a lengthy advocacy campaign by civil society - including AfriMAP's 11 ratifications before 2011 campaign with the Pan-African Parliament - has finally paid off. However, considerable work still needs to be done. Along with the 15 countries (listed below) that have deposited their instruments of ratification, two other countries have ratified the Charter but not yet officially deposited their instruments - leaving 37 African States that have still not ratified the Charter.
Ratifications by date:
|
|
Country |
Date |
|
1 |
Mauritania |
28 Jul 2008 |
|
2 |
Ethiopia |
6 Jan 2009 |
|
3 |
Sierra Leone |
8 Dec 2009 |
|
4 |
Burkina Faso |
6 Jul 2010 |
|
5 |
Lesotho |
9 Jul 2010 |
|
6 |
Rwanda |
14 Jul 2010 |
|
7 |
Ghana |
19 Oct 2010 |
|
8 |
South Africa |
24 Jan 2011 |
|
9 |
Zambia |
8 Jul 2011 |
|
10 |
Guinea |
11 Jul 2011 |
|
11 |
Chad |
13 Oct 2011 |
|
12 |
Niger |
8 Nov 2011 |
|
13 |
Guinea Bissau |
4 Jan 2012 |
|
14 |
Nigeria |
9 Jan 2012 |
|
15 |
Cameroon |
Jan 2012 |
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1 Comments
The adoption of the Charter demonstrates AU member states’ determination to strengthen good governance through institutionalizing transparency, accountability and democracy. Through its adoption, AU member states committed themselves to a set of common standards and approaches to on-going political reforms on the continent. The Charter, if complied with, could be a viable instrument through which African Citizens can hold leadership to account.
The Charter comes into force at a critical time when the AU is putting together a governance architecture that aims to improve the coordination and relationships between the different AU governance institutions and processes in order for the AU to respond efficiently and effectively to issues of governance.
Important features of the Charter include:
Entrenchment of a political culture of change of power based on holding regular, free, fair and transparent elections conducted by competent, independent and impartial national electoral bodies; and
Responding to unconstitutional changes of governments that have been major causes of insecurity, instability and violent conflict in Africa.