The African Union (AU) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, has called on Africans to standup for democracy since it remained the best system of government to deliver on the development aspirations of the continent.
According to him, even though democracy was not a perfect system, it has proven to be the most ideal system of governance globally, stressing that military takeovers have not yielded any dividends for the respective countries where the takeovers have happened.
“The interesting thing is that in places where there have been military takeovers, the initial thing is that the youth have been seen to be in support of the military leaders, however, same cannot be said now as the youth are disappointed that the situation which necessitated these takeovers have worsened,” he emphasised.
Mr Adeoye made the call at the news conference in Accra yesterday to brief the media on the AU Reflections Forum Scheduled in Accra from 18 to 19 March.
The forum is being organised under the auspices of the Peace and Security Council (PSC), in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the government of the republic of Ghana.
This year’s forum is being held under the theme ‘Robust Response, Deepening Democracy, Sustainable Security’ and aims at building on the first edition held in March 2022 and on the Declaration on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa, also known as the Malabo Declaration on UCGs, adopted during the 16th extraordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union on Terrorism and UCGs in Africa on 28 May 2022.
Mr Adeoye explained that the Accra II process would access the efforts and initiatives undertaken since the 2022 Accra Reflection Forum and the key achievements as well as gaps in implementing its recommendations.
He said the forum would also offer an opportunity to review the latest developments since the Accra Forum, deepen reflection on the structural root causes and impacts of UCGs in Africa, and provide recommendations on the necessary steps to improve and adapt the AU’s responses to the new challenges posed by UCGs.
This, he said, were towards consolidating democratic practice and effective governance in Africa.
“The forum will bring together African Policy and decision-makers, including representatives of PSSC, the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), and the armed forces of AU member states, as well as the AU Commission and relevant AU organs, regional economic communities, and mechanisms (RECs/RMs). Civil Society organisations including youth and women groups, academia, think tanks, labour unions, constitutional lawyers, among other professional groups and strategic development partners will also participate,” he emphasised.
He again noted that all the stakeholders would also exchange views on consolidating democratic governance, advancing national ownership of governance processes, and strengthening constitutionalism and the rule of law in Africa in addition to aligning coordination and coherence to effectively implement the Malabo and Accra Declarations.
On her part, the Chairperson, AU Peace and Security Council, Emilia Mkusa, said the AU had declared zero tolerance for Unconstitutional Change of Government and as such countries that violated this were suspended as part of the sanction regimes.
She said one of the key objects of the forum was to find workable solutions to how to deal with Unconstitutional Change of Government.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
