ELECTORAL REFORM: “Il faut savoir quitter la table lorsque l’amour est desservi” *

There is a lot of talk these days about electoral reform in Mauritius. Maybe one important decision should be to have an age-limit for those wishing to stand as candidates. Just as one must have reached a certain age in order to be able to vote or to stand as candidate, similarly one should not be allowed to stand as candidate on reaching a certain age, say 70 (preferably) or 75 (as the limit). Also, a President or Prime Minister should not have more than two consecutive terms in office.
This would prevent scenarios that are taking place in certain countries – e. g. Senegal where Abdoulaye Wade wants to run for a third term as President. Abdoulaye Wade is already 85 years old, officially, but some Senegalese pretend that he is in fact 90 years old and so they say that Wade is 85 plus VAT. The Constitution of that country has even been modified so that a President can run for a third term in office instead of only two ! Power does corrupt indeed ! And Senegal is the same country that has produced a certain Leopold Sédar Senghor, a President who stepped down voluntarily once he had reached a certain age – a gentleman that other politicians the world over should emulate. Let's also not forget South African icon Nelson Mandela who, at the end of his term in office, did not seek re-election even though he was in good health and as popular as ever. This is wisdom indeed !
The big problem is that all politicians, except a very few, tend to cling to power as long as possible once they are at the top. Like Abdoulaye Wade ! At times it happens that they have to be literally booted out – like Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Ben Ali of Tunisia, Ghadafi of Libya, and, maybe some people have forgotten, Idi Amin of Uganda, Ceaucescu of Romania and James Mancham of Seychelles. Into this 'panier à crabes' we can also throw in Sepp Blatter, the Swiss who thinks that FIFA is his private property. Blatter, like the Brazilian Joao Havelange before him, has simply been President of FIFA for much too long. These people think that they are the very best at their respective jobs, but they should know better. They should be made to understand that however smart they may think they are, there is bound to be somebody smarter ! They should show some humility and they should pay heed to the advice of people like Brock Chisholm, a Canadian doctor who became the first Director General of the World Health Organization. When, at the end of his tenure, Dr Chisholm was asked to stay on for a second term, his answer was that those at the head of International Organizations should leave after their one term in office. As a matter of fact, he did relinquish his post at the end of his first term as Director General of the WHO.
Even Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, despite his charisma and diplomatic wisdom, was ousted from power in 1982 when the Opposition won a landslide victory – and not one candidate from SSR's Party was elected ! SSR, 82 years old then, had been at the helm somewhat too long, and things were getting rusty in Paradise Island. Unfortunately for the masses and the common people, most political leaders, as well as some top-shots of certain International Organizations, never seem to learn and do not step down when they should and that's a pity indeed. They think they are Pharaohs. They neither have the wisdom nor the common sense to realize that it is better to leave 'la tête haute' than to be booted out !
* Charles Aznavour