{"id":12345,"date":"2017-10-18T16:14:54","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T16:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/?p=12345"},"modified":"2020-03-04T17:28:54","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T17:28:54","slug":"en-afrique-de-louest-les-revisions-constitutionnelles-ont-elles-contribue-la-consolidation-de-la-paix-et-de-la-democratie-ou-linverse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/en-afrique-de-louest-les-revisions-constitutionnelles-ont-elles-contribue-la-consolidation-de-la-paix-et-de-la-democratie-ou-linverse\/","title":{"rendered":"En Afrique de l\u2019Ouest, les r\u00e9visions constitutionnelles ont-elles contribu\u00e9 \u00e0 la consolidation de la paix et de la d\u00e9mocratie, ou l\u2019inverse ?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Also available <\/span><\/span><a href=\"#english-identifier\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">in English \/ en anglais<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In West Africa, it seems that the time for coups is over and that cherub-like constitutional revisions are in fashion. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The heads of state have learned their lesson: they no longer seek to cling to power but to &#8220;modernize&#8221; it. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali, constitutional revisions propose to contribute to lasting peace and to consolidate democracy. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Still modernization, brought by this inflation of new Constitutions, should not be rejected by a restive political-social context.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Mali and the Ivory Coast, plans for constitutional revision were underpinned by requirements enshrined in the peace agreements reached at the end of the crises which struck these two countries. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The need to strengthen institutions and reconcile peoples was the main driver. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">However, in the sub-region, the only constitutional revision project which seems to strengthen the institutions and the rights of the people, at least on paper, is that of Burkina Faso. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">This was announced, from the start, through the type of commission set up to develop said project. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Unlike the committees of experts from C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire and Mali, whose members were carefully selected by the government,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Whatever the stated objectives of democratic consolidation of these plans to revise the Constitution, the political context in which they are introduced depends on all its success, and especially its failure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Senegal opposition is bothersome<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Senegal, President Macky Sall poses as a defender of democracy, by showing his wish to modernize the Senegalese institutional system through 15 <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeuneafrique.com\/308953\/politique\/senegal-referendum-constitutionnel-20-mars-mode-demploi\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">measures<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> . <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">According to him, the 2016 Constitution strengthens the powers and independence of the Constitutional Council and inscribes new rights and duties of the citizen in the new fundamental text. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Ostensibly, Senegal consolidates democracy by reducing the presidential mandate from seven to five years, but this measure will not be effective until 2019. Also, in the new Constitution, President Macky Sall expressly recognizes \u201cthe rights of the opposition and its leader \u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">And yet, this constitutional revision project quickly lost its sincerity: just a few days before the constitutional referendum, Khalifa Sall, rising figure of the Socialist Party, the former ruling party, and Mayor of Dakar, is imprisoned in a matter of alleged embezzlement of public funds. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">This incarceration resembles, according to several figures of the Senegalese opposition, a personal settlement of accounts against a politician who seems to be the only one capable of putting Macky Sall in difficulty during the presidential elections of 2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Teen looking for his dolphin <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, Alassane Dramane Ouattara (ADO) seeks to end a decade of fratricidal tensions by proposing major changes to the 2000 Constitution which carries the seeds of the 2002 &#8211; 2007 civil war. In October 2016, the Ivorian President has carved out important powers by creating a Vice-Presidency of the Republic, considered as a maneuver to oust the former rebel leader Guillaume Soro, current President of the National Assembly and therefore number two in the order of succession to the presidency of the republic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In the new Constitution, Ouattara however regulates the thorny question of the nationality of the parents of the candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Only one of the two parents must be of Ivorian nationality, a change provided for in the <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.diplomatie.gouv.fr\/fr\/dossiers-pays\/cote-d-ivoire\/colonne-droite\/documents-de-reference\/article\/accord-de-linas-marcoussis\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Linas-Marcoussis Agreements<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> signed in January 2003. The new Constitution also proposes the creation of a Senate of which a third of the members will be appointed by the head of the state. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The creation of this second chamber of parliament has just been postponed to a later date due to social crises and recent mutinies which would have tested the coffers of the state.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">IBK&#8217;s personal ambitions <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Mali, the same scenario with a few exceptions. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">President Ibrahim Boubacar Ke\u00efta (IBK) for some months aspired to accommodate the <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/maliactu.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/ACCORD-POUR-LA-PAIX-ET-DE-RECONCILIATION-AU-MALI-1.pdf\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Algiers Agreements<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> signed in May 2015, in a new Constitution which would revise that of 1992. As if the powers of the President were not great enough, the draft constitutional revision of 2017 proposed a strengthening of the powers of the head of state. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The latter could have, if the Constitution had been approved, appoint the President of the Constitutional Court, the President of the Court of Accounts and a third of future senators. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">He could also have amended all the articles of the Constitution by parliamentary means, without the need for a referendum stamp.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">However, the definition of the \u201c <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.maliweb.net\/societe\/haute-trahison-2475872.html\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">high treason crime<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> \u201d with which ministers and heads of state can be charged in the exercise of their functions is welcome. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Also, the representation of the Malian diaspora in Parliament, and the introduction of proportional representation ballots in the mode of election of deputies can be considered as positive measures for democracy. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Indeed, these allow a more equitable representation of all regions of the country in the hemicycle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Following numerous <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/niarela.net\/politique\/la-plateforme-ante-a-banna-touche-pas-ma-constitution-face-a-la-presse-le-pouvoir-reste-sourd-aux-inquietudes-des-maliens\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">demonstrations<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> by the living forces of the nation fiercely opposed to the draft Constitution &#8211; notably under the platform \u201c\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Ante a banna<\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">\u00a0\u00bb, The revision project was suspended as a whole. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The citizens were right to sound the alarm: among about thirty innovations brought to the Constitution of February 25, 1992, there was only the creation of a Senate which was in direct link with the Algiers Agreements. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Among the innovations, one consisted in giving immunity from prosecution to the President of the Republic for the duration of his mandate. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Another was to lift the requirement that ministers declare their assets when they take office. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">These had an almost non-existent relationship with the peace process underway and did not seem to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, on the contrary!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Despite the wishful thinking on the part of the heads of state of West Africa, these referendums are perceived in national opinion as presidential early, which crystallize the tensions between opposition and ruling party, divide the opinion and threaten an already fragile societal balance. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Senegal, Mali and Ivory Coast, the new Constitutions or draft texts now allow a revision of the basic text, without resorting to a referendum. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">This means that the people, under the guise of a modern democracy, indeed lose their most fundamental rights. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Where reality is as hard as iron, myth loses its place of honor.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Kamissa Camara<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> is the Africa Director of <\/span><\/span><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.partnersglobal.org\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">PartnersGlobal <\/span><\/span><\/a><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">in Washington DC and a political analyst affiliated with the <\/span><\/span><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/africa.harvard.edu\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Center for African Studies <\/span><\/span><\/a><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">at Harvard University.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Mahamadou Konat\u00e9<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> is a professor and political analyst in several elite schools in Mali, including the National Staff School and <\/span><\/span><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.empbamako.org\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">the Alioune Blondin Beye Peacekeeping School <\/span><\/span><\/a><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">He is based in Bamako.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Have constitutional changes in West Africa contributed to peace and democracy or the opposite? <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In West Africa, an era of <\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">coups d&#8217;\u00e9tat<\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> seems to have given way to a more sedate period of constitutional reforms. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Heads of state have learnt that rather than seeking to cling to power, they can seek to \u201cmodernize\u201d it. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali, constitutional revisions have been framed as a means to promote peace and consolidate democracy. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">But the socio-political context in which such modernization has occurred is critical to understanding this trend.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Mali and C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, constitutional reforms stemmed from the provisions of post-conflict peace agreements. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The primary drivers of such changes were the need to strengthen institutions, and to reconcile parties to the conflict. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The only country in the region where constitutional changes would seem to strengthen the rights of citizens, at least on paper, is Burkina Faso. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">This was made clear from the outset with the choice of commission established to draft the new basic law. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In contrast to the committees of experts carefully selected by the governments of C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire and Mali, the constitutional commission in Burkina Faso is representative of different social groups, including the opposition and faith-based organizations.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Whatever the stated objectives of such constitutional reforms, the political context in which they are initiated can determine their success, or their failure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Opposition blues in Senegal <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Senegal, President Macky Sall has positioned himself as a defender of democracy, displaying a desire to modernize national institutions through a series of 15 <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeuneafrique.com\/308953\/politique\/senegal-referendum-constitutionnel-20-mars-mode-demploi\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">reforms<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> . <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Taking him at his word, the 2016 constitution strengthens the independence of the <\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Conseil Constitutionnel<\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> and introduces new citizen rights and obligations. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Ostensibly, democracy in Senegal is being consolidated through the reduction of the presidential term of office from seven to five years; <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">however, this change will not be effective until 2019. In promulgating the new constitution, President Sall has expressly acknowledged \u201cthe rights of the opposition and its leader.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Yet the constitutional reform project promptly lost its credibility when only days before the referendum, Khalifa Sall, a rising star in the <\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Parti Socialiste<\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> (the former ruling party) and Mayor of Dakar, was detained over the alleged misappropriation of public funds. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">According to several opposition figures, this arrest was the result of a desire to settle scores with a political rival &#8211; perhaps the only man who could challenge the incumbent in the 2019 presidential elections.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">ADO searches for a successor <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, Alassane Dramane Ouattara (ADO) sought to bring to an end a decade of fratricidal tensions by overhauling the 2000 constitution, which had sowed the seeds for the 2002-2007 civil war. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In October 2016, the Ivorian president carved out changes to executive authority by creating the position of vice-president, widely interpreted as a move to side-line former rebel leader, Guillaume Soro, who as president of the National Assembly was then number two in the constitutional succession order.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The new constitution resolves, once and for all, the thorny question of nationality. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Presidential aspirants must prove that at least one of their parents is Ivoiran, a change foreseen in the <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.diplomatie.gouv.fr\/fr\/dossiers-pays\/cote-d-ivoire\/colonne-droite\/documents-de-reference\/article\/accord-de-linas-marcoussis\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Linas-Marcoussis Accords<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> , signed in January 2003. The new constitution also lays the foundations for a Senate, in which one third of seats would be appointed by the head of state. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The establishment of this second chamber of parliament has so far been delayed; <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">a result of social and military unrest and its impact on cost to the exchequer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">IBK&#8217;s personal ambitions<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Mali, the story is broadly the same, albeit with certain exceptions. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">President Ibrahim Boubacar Ke\u00efta (IBK) has, in recent months, endeavored to integrate the <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/maliactu.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/ACCORD-POUR-LA-PAIX-ET-DE-RECONCILIATION-AU-MALI-1.pdf\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Algiers Accor<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> ds, signed in May 2015, into a new constitution modeled on the 1992 basic law. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">As if executive authority was not sufficient, amendments proposed to further strengthen the powers of the president. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If the 2017 draft constitution had been approved, the head of state would have been able to appoint the president of the Constitutional Court, the president of the national audit body ( <\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Cour des Comptes<\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> ), and one third of Senators. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Additionally, the executive would have been able to amend any article of the constitution through a vote in parliament, without the need for a popular referendum.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Nevertheless, the proposed constitution did include certain welcome measures, such as plans to define \u201c <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.maliweb.net\/societe\/haute-trahison-2475872.html\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">high treason<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> \u201d, accusations of which can be levelled at ministers and the head of state in the conduct of their office. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Equally, plans for the Malian diaspora to be represented in the legislature, and to use proportional representation for the election of MPs can be seen as positive developments for Malian democracy. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Indeed, these would offer to more equitable parliamentary representation for all regions of the country.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Following a number of <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/niarela.net\/politique\/la-plateforme-ante-a-banna-touche-pas-ma-constitution-face-a-la-presse-le-pouvoir-reste-sourd-aux-inquietudes-des-maliens\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">demonstrations<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> by activists opposing the planned constitution &#8211; notably under the banner of &#8221;\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Ante a banna<\/span><\/span><\/em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> \u00a0&#8220;, the proposals were dropped. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Citizens were right to sound the alarm: among the 30-odd changes to the Constitution adopted on February 25, 1992, only the creation of a Senate stemmed directly from the Algiers Accords. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">One innovation proposed was to give the President immunity from prosecution during his term of office. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Another was to waive the requirement for ministers to declare their assets upon assuming office. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Such moves have next to no relationship with current peace process, and cannot be seen as strengthening democracy or the rule of law.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Whatever the pious vows of West African heads of state, constitutional referendums are viewed locally as presidential elections ahead of time. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">They escalate tensions between the opposition and the ruling party, divide popular opinion and threaten to disrupt fragile social equilibriums. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In Senegal, Mali and C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, new constitutions or draft texts have opened the door to further revisions without plebiscites. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Thus, under the guise of a modern democracy, citizens are being deprived of one of their most fundamental rights &#8211; a say in changes to the basic law.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Kamissa Camara<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> is Africa Director at <\/span><\/span><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.partnersglobal.org\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Partners Global <\/span><\/span><\/a><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">in Washington, DC, and a political analyst affiliated with the <\/span><\/span><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/africa.harvard.edu\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Center for African Studies <\/span><\/span><\/a><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">at Harvard University.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Mahamadou Konat\u00e9<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> is a lecturer and political analyst at numerous institutions in Mali, notably the National Staff School and <\/span><\/span><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.empbamako.org\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">the Alioune Blondin Beye Peacekeeping School <\/span><\/span><\/a><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">. <\/span><\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">He is based in Bamako.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Des r\u00e9visions constitutionnelles en C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, au S\u00e9n\u00e9gal, au Burkina Faso et au Mali.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>En Afrique de l\u2019Ouest, les r\u00e9visions constitutionnelles ont-elles contribu\u00e9 \u00e0 la consolidation de la paix et de la d\u00e9mocratie, ou l\u2019inverse ? - Africa Research Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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