By Fuvi Kloku
For decades, the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been quick to condemn military coups, rightly imposing sanctions and demanding a return to constitutional rule. Yet, a more insidious form of power grab has taken hold across the region, one that subverts democracy not with tanks, but with legal maneuvering. This “constitutional coup” is just as destructive as any military takeover, and the silence of these regional bodies is a betrayal of the democratic principles they claim to uphold.
The pattern is stark and alarming.
In Côte d’Ivoire, President Alassane Ouattara is seeking a fourth term, a move made possible by altering the constitution to reset term limits. This isn’t a popular mandate; it’s a calculated effort to remain in power indefinitely, eroding the very foundations of democratic transition.
A similar drama is unfolding in Togo, where Faure Gnassingbé has pushed through constitutional reforms to extend his decades-long family dynasty. These changes, met with widespread public protest, are a transparent effort to make his rule permanent, transforming a republic into a de facto monarchy.
In Guinea-Bissau, the veneer of legality has been all but abandoned. President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has taken the extraordinary step of dissolving parliament, suspending the constitution, and sidelining the judiciary and electoral commission. He is paving the way for an election he plans to control entirely, a move that is a coup in everything but name.
In The Gambia, Adama Barrow is preparing for a third term, not by embracing a new, democratic constitution, but by clinging to the old one left by the very dictator he replaced, Yahya Jammeh. His actions demonstrate a chilling willingness to use the tools of the past to secure his future in power.
The hypocrisy of the AU and ECOWAS is a damning indictment. They are vocal in their opposition to military rule but turn a blind eye when leaders manipulate the law to achieve the same result. A constitutional coup and a military coup both lead to the same disastrous outcome: the death of democracy, the rise of autocracy, and the inevitable descent into instability.
By their inaction, these regional bodies are not just failing to protect democracy, they are actively enabling its destruction.
