Owusu on Africa: Charles de Gaulle, the 5th Republican Constitution and ‘Francophone Africa’

By Fidel Amakye Owusu

In the aftermath of the second world war, France witnessed a great deal of political instability.

In 12 years, the country had as many as 21 premiers. The situation became so dire and frustrating that it affected its prosecution of the Algerian War. This brought Charles de Gaulle back to front-line politics.

To solve the problem of “democratic instability”, a new Constitution was created by de Gaulle and his allies, that produced the most powerful presidency of the West.

The 1958 constitution created a president with near-absolute powers.

The president could veto the National Assembly and dissolve it; the president had the power to effectively appoint and fire the prime minister; the president was the commander-in-chief and Executive President. Furthermore, the holder of the office President had seven years for a term and no term limits.

The period led towards the preparation and arrangement towards the political independence of Francophone Africa in the 1960s.

Almost all of Francophone Africa had adopted the structure of the 5th Republican Constitution at independence. This meant that African leaders started out as very powerful and masters of all they surveyed.

Many had unlimited term limits of five or seven years each; executive Presidents with powers to dissolve the National Assembly; and other powers like the French President.

This created laissez-faire leadership with so much power but less responsibility. It is common to find Francophone presidents absolving themselves and firing their prime ministers to pacify the masses in times of crisis.

In early 2022 the Burkinabe President dismissed the Prime Minister and the entire government when there was public unrest. This did not prevent the subsequent coup that ousted him.

While France after Charles de Gaulle has amended its constitution to reduce the number of years for a term and placed a limit to it, Francophone Africa is yet to effectively have that.

Even when such amendments are made in Africa, leaders eventually tweak their respective constitutions to stay on. Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and many others have experienced such tweaks. These have led to coups and instability in some states.

Also, the line of succession which was adopted by African states from the French constitution has created problems in many countries. Cote d’Ivoire and Chad are notable. Cote d’Ivoire has recently created the position of Vice President as first in the line of succession. It used to be the leader of the National Assembly – like the 5th Republican Constitution of France.

Africa needs constitutions that encourage inclusiveness and match modern state-building.

Fidel Amakye Owusu is an International Relations and Security Analyst. He is an Associate at the Conflict Research Consortium for Africa and has previously hosted an International Affairs program with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). He is passionate about Diplomacy and realizing Africa’s global potential and how the continent should be viewed as part of the global collective.