The African Union does not mind how old a head of state is as long as she or he has been elected in a process that has been declared to be democratically and legally organized.
The African Union says this is guided by the African Charter for Democracy, elections and governance.In fact, the member states that comprise the African Union have different provisions in their constitutions on age and term limits.The AU respects this sovereignty and as such a debate to set a limit on these issues would be short lived here.
The AU says it will however; remain opposed to leaders who force their stay in power despite their age.This comes after Gambia’s president Yahya’s Jammeh’s threat to prolong his mandate beyond 19th January.
The bloc continues to watch closely countries like The Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Gabon where heads of state are being criticized by some of their citizens for being in power illegally.
