Clinging on

Uganda - 2005

^{Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (EPA)}

Yoweri Museveni of Uganda set the precedent for the current crop of rulers. Shortly after taking power in 1986 he wrote that: "the problem of Africa in general, and Uganda in particular, is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power."

In an infamous U-turn in 2005, he secured a change to the constitution allowing himself a third term. He is now, at the age of 71, serving a fourth.

Cameroon - 2008

The ruler of Cameroon is the fourth longest-serving president on the continent: only Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Zimbabwe have had to endure their leaders for more time.

^{Cameroon's President Paul Biya in Brussels in 2014 (AFP/Getty)}

And although the rulers of Angola and Equatorial Guinea have introduced term limits – which, conveniently for their ageing leaders, are unlikely to affect their own rule – of the four longest-serving leaders, only Paul Biya of Cameroon has successfully overturned the constutition.

A two-term limit in the 1996 constitution should have prevented him from running again, but in 2008 he revised the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits.

Mr Biya, who came to power in 1982, is thought by most to be hoping to run again in 2018 – if the 82-year-old’s health holds up.

Burundi - 2015

Pierre Nkurunziza was supposed to be the answer to Burundi’s problem of decades of disastrous leadership.

A former university lecturer, he became Burundi’s “Minister for Good Governance” and was elected president in 2005. His country had been wracked by civil war and unrest since independence from Belgium in 1962. In 1972 sectarian violence between Hutus and Tutsis saw up to 210,000 people killed, then in 1993 the first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, was assassinated - triggering the loss of a further 25,000 lives through tribal warfare.

For the next ten years peace talks continued, with the mediation of Nelson Mandela. And Mr Nkurunziza’s election was supposed to cement the ceasefire, and mark a new era of calm under the 2000 Arusha peace agreement.

Initially it worked.

But in April Mr Nkurunziza said he was going to run for a third term – contravening the Arusha agreement, which specifically states that no president can be elected three times. Mr Nkurunziza’s argument was that he had not been actually elected the first time – he said he was elected by parliament, so it didn’t count.

^{May 17, 2015: Pierre Nkurunziza makes his first official appearance since the attempted coup against him (AFP/Getty)}

In the ensuing violence, 300,000 people fled to neighbouring Rwanda and Tanzania, and generals attempted a coup – which quickly failed.

Mr Nkurunziza's CNDD-FDD party scored a widely-expected landslide win in parliamentary polls held on May 29, that were boycotted by the opposition and condemned internationally as neither free nor fair.

On July 21 presidential elections were held, with Mr Nkurunziza defying international condemnation to run for a third term. The elections were boycotted by the opposition.

Critics fear a win by the incumbent will be a hollow victory, leaving him ruling over a deeply divided nation.

"Despite a facade of pluralism, this is an election with only one candidate, where Burundians already know the outcome," said Thierry Vircoulon from the International Crisis Group, a think-tank that has warned the situation has all the ingredients to kick-start renewed civil war.

Congo - 2015

In April 2015 Denis Sassou N'Guesso, president of Congo-Brazzaville, announced that he too wanted to change the constitution.

Having been in power for all but five of the last 36 years, Mr Sassou N'Guesso organised an October 25 national referendum, which saw him win approval for a third term by a landslide.

The result will change Congo-Brazzaville’s electoral rules which previously precluded two-term presidents over the age of 70 from seeking re-election.

The run-up to the referendum saw tens of thousands of people participate in peaceful demonstrations in September, and further protests saw four people die last Tuesday when police dispersed crowds in Brazzaville.

^{Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso}

President from 1979 to 1992, he was ousted then re-elected in 1997.

“I think the current constitution can be improved, which is why we need to let the debate happen,” he said.

Departing with dignity

Senegal - 2012

The 2012 presidential election in Senegal was the most controversial, hotly contested and violent in Senegal’s democratic history.

^{When Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade lost the election, he conceded power (AFP/Getty)}

The incumbent, 85-year-old Abdoulaye Wade, proposed constitutional changes that would have ensured his success in the next elections by reducing the number of votes needed to win an election. Mr Wade brought in two-term limits, but then said that the rule did not apply to him because his first term begun before the law was passed.

Citizens took to the streets en masse to say enough is enough, with riots in the capital shocking Senegal – the only country in West Africa never to have had a coup.

Mr Wade eventually backed down and withdrew the amendment, but he continued his controversial run for a third term.

To the surprise of many, he did not rig the polls and was defeated, and conceded after a second round runoff election.

But now Mr Wade has said he will remain as head of his party for the 2017 elections "until a new and promising leader is found".

Mozambique - 2014

Prior to the October 2014 elections, Mozambique was in turmoil. The president, Armando Guebuza, remained popular, and had no obvious successor. His party, Frelimo, had ruled Mozambique since independence from Portugal in 1975 – first as a one-party state, then through elections.

And as Mr Gyebuza was reaching the end of his second term in office, it was unclear what would happen next - Mozambique's constitution dictated he must step down. Many expected him to claim that “the will of the people” was forcing him to abandon term limits.

^{L-R President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa in 2006}

But to the surprise of many, a successor was found in Filipe Nyusi – a relative unknown. Mr Guebuza, 72, stepped aside, and has recently declared that he will not return to politics.

Nigeria - 2015

The concession of defeat by the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, after elections in March marked the first time in the nation’s history that an incumbent leader has been ousted at the ballot box.

^{Goodluck Jonathan}

Nigeria’s Constitution limits presidents to two four-year terms. Mr Jonathan ascended to the presidency in 2010 upon the death of incumbent Umaru Yar’Adua, and then won the regularly scheduled election in 2011. Legal challenges to his eligibility to run again in 2015 were overturned by the high court – which meant that he had no need to implement some of his suggestions, such as changing the constitution to allow one longer term.

In a closely-fought election, he was defeated, in a pleasant surprise, did not contest the result. He handed over to Muhammadu Buhari, in the first peaceful transition since the end of military rule in 1999.

On May 29, Mr Jonathan handed over power to Mr Buhari.

Ones to watch

DRC - 2016

Joseph Kabila, 43, a former taxi driver, rose to power in 2001 after his father, Laurent, was assassinated.

He won a second five-year mandate at disputed elections in 2011, and is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in 2016.

In January tentative attempts to overturn the term limit were met with riots, and international NGOs have urged Mr Kabila to commit publicly to standing down next year.

^{Opponents of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila demonstrate in front of the White House in Washington, DC, USA (Getty)}

His vast, mineral-rich country has endured the worst conflict since the Second World War – 5.4 million people have been killed since 1998. And Mr Kabila’s peaceful relinquishing of power is seen as absolutely essential in preventing another upsurge of violence, and ensuring economic development. The IMF forecasts its economy will be one of the fastest-growing in the world this year, expanding by 10.5 per cent - mainly driven by mining, which makes up 15 per cent of GDP.

 

Benin - 2016

Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi promised voters and world leaders including Barack Obama he would step down when his second term expires next year - but doubts over his pledge remain.

^{French President Francois Hollande (R) welcomes Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi at the Elysee Palace in January (AFP/Getty)}

His plans to reform Benin's constitution - which would introduce a national electoral commission and state auditor to fight corruption and ensure democratic elections - have fed the suspicions about the president's real intentions.

"We witnessed it again in Burkina Faso. Today in Burundi we are seeing the consequences. When these (constitutional) rules are not respected, are not shared, then there are risks and there are consequences," said Francois Hollande, the French president, in Benin on July 8 at the start of a two-day African visit.

 

Rwanda - 2017

Paul Kagame has effectively ruled Rwanda since the genocide of 1994, which saw 800,000 people massacred in 100 days. He was initially vice president, but accepted as de facto ruler; in 2000 he was elected president.

The 57-year-old has served the two seven-year terms permitted by the constitution, but has remained worryingly ambiguous about his intentions ahead of 2017 elections. And on July 17 parliament voted to support a change in the constitution, allowing him to run again.

The opposition are currently attempting to appeal against the vote in the Supreme Court - but are struggling to find a lawyer to represent them.

^{Paul Kagame has held the reins since 1994 (AFP/Getty)}

“I belong to the group that doesn’t support change of the constitution,” said Mr Kagame in April. “But in a democratic society, debates are allowed and they are healthy.

“I’m open to going or not going depending on the interest and future of this country.”