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The Winds of Change. Political and Constitutional Evolution in Francophone Africa, 1990–1991

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Filip Reyntjens
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Extract

“Never in my lifetime”: it has always been a risky sentence for political leaders, as the former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith knows only too well. The astonishingly rapid evolution in Africa today has made the phrase sound almost suicidal. Zaire's President Mobutu, for instance, claimed at the beginning of 1990 that “never in my lifetime will there be multi-partyism in Zaire”; after he was forced to announce the lifting of all restrictions on 9 October of the same year, more than 100 political parties had become active by the beginning of 1991 and Mobutu's own prospects for political survival now seem increasingly slim. He is just one of the many heads of state in French-speaking Africa who have been forced into performing a drastic U-turn during 1990.

Both single party rule and socialism have come under increasing strain over the last year. In Francophone Africa in particular, virtually no country has been untouched by the wave of political reform. A combination of factors accounts for this spectacular evolution.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of African Law , Volume 35 , Issue 1-2: RECENT CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN AFRICA , Spring 1991 , pp. 44 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 1991

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References

1 See e.g. Anglin, D. G., “Southern African Responses to Eastern European Developments”, 18 Journal of Modem African Studies, 1990, 341–455Google Scholar; African Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9563–9665Google Scholar.

2 31 Africa Confidential, No. 14 of 13 07, 1990Google Scholar.

3 31 Africa Confidential, No. 5 of 9 03, 1990Google Scholar.

4 Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth, Washington D.C., The World Bank, 1989Google Scholar.

5 31 Africa Confidential, No. 15 of 27 07, 1990Google Scholar.

6 Reyntjens, F., “Recent Developments in the Public Law of Francophone African States”, 30 Journal of African Law, 1986, 75–90, at 78CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

7 However, the Chadian experiment has been short-lived. President Hisseine Habré had to flee the country when a rebel force, headed by Idriss Deby, took control in early December 1990.

8 The longest span of time envisaged was in Togo, where in October 1990 President Eyadema announced the return to multi-partyism “within two or three years” (Africa Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9860). In the meantime it has become clear that Eyadema will not be able to buy that much time. By the end of 04 1991, nine opposition parties had been registered with the Ministry of the Interior.Google Scholar

9 Africa Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9866. In the meantime a meeting of the ruling RDCA's steering committee held in April 1991 advised the introduction of multi-party democracy. The fact that France was said to be looking for a successor to General Koiingba may have been instrumental in bringing about this change of heart (32 Africa Confidential, No. 3 of 8 02, 1991)Google Scholar.

10 See Reyntjens, F., art. cit., at 84–87Google Scholar.

11 31 Africa Confidential, No. 7 of 6 04, 1990Google Scholar.

12 Here again, France played a decisive role. After some army units joined the protests and took strategic positions, Houphouët-Boigny's request for military help was turned down by Paris. This prompted the President to engage in negotiations which led to the decision to allow other parties (see African Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9693).

13 For a short survey of practices in the 1970s and 1980s, see Reyntjens, F., art. cit., at 88.Google Scholar

14 République Rwandaise, Commission nationale de synthèse, Rapport de la Commission Rationale de synthèse sur Us réformes politiques au Rwanda, Kigali, 03 1991Google Scholar. (This report in French is a summary of a four-volume report in the national language Kinyarwanda.)

15 On this fast pace of events in Gabon, see Africa Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9550, 9556, 9573, 9625, 9632, 9652, 9677, 9695, 9827, 9898 and 9932.

16 Houphouët-Boigny had been a minister under the Fourth French Republic and had consistently been a close and reliable ally of France and the West for over 30 years.

17 For a survey of events leading to the elections, see Africa Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9592, 9604, 9630, 9652, 9660, 9684, 9693, 9768, 9799, 9826, 9861 and 9896.

18 Le Monde, Paris, 6 01, 1990Google Scholar.

19 On this subject, see Reyntjens, F. and Wolf-Phillips, L., “Revolution in the Legal System of Third World States”, in Marasinghe, M. L. and Concklin, W. E. (eds.), Essays on Third World Perspectives in Jurisprudence, Singapore, Malayan Law Journal Pte., 1984, 105–136Google Scholar; with many references.

20 Africa Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9580.

21 Jeune Afrique, Paris, 26 03, 1990Google Scholar.

22 32 Africa Confidential, No. 7 o f 5 04, 1991Google Scholar.

23 The course of events in Benin can be followed in Africa Research Bulletin, Political Series, 9548, 9580, 9611, 9649, 9683, 9895, 9934and 10008; see also 31 Africa Confidential, No. 7 of 6 04, 1990Google Scholar.

24 Actually this is the reason why the bicephalous system was abolished in most countries during the 1960s. Thus in Senegal a presidential system was introduced in 1963 after a grave crisis had erupted between President Léopold Senghor and Prime Minister Mamadou Dia.

25 This is confirmed by the outcome of the first competitive elections. There are 17 parliamentary parties in Benin and eight in Gabon; that only four parties are represented in the Ivorian Assembly is mainly due to the fact that the ruling PDI has secured 93% of the seats.

26 My fieldwork in Rwanda actually shows that the rural populations are opposed to multipartyism. They fear the cost in terms of money, time spent on political activity and social unrest caused by party canvassing. At the same time, they do not perceive any advantage for themselves. What they really want is to “be let alone”, allowed to carry out their work without too much interference and under the guidance of an “enlightened despot”.

27 Of the 18 Francophone countries under survey, 14 (78%) had regimes of military origin when the winds of change started to blow. On the other hand, of the 14 Commonwealth countries, only five (36%) have regimes of military origin. (Uganda is included for this purpose.)