11 African Presidents Who Handed Over Power Peacefully

African president who handed over power peacefully

Nigerian ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan is the the 11th african president who handed over power peacefully.

However, president Yahya Jammeh who conceded defeat in the just concluded Gambian election will be the 12th african president to hand over power peacefully.

Whtaevever the case may be, you should know that the trend of peaceful power handing over in Africa did not start with Nigeria.

You can check out the complete below;

1. Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria.

Goodluck Jonathan was the president of NIgeria from 2010 to 2015. He is the first sitting Nigerian president to participate in a peaceful transition of power.

2. Joyce Banda, Malawi.

Joyce Banda took office as president following the sudden death of president Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012. She was Malawi’s fourth president and it’s first female president. In May 2014, she was heavily defeated in the presidential election.

3. Abdoulaye Wade, Senegal.

Wade led the Senegalese opposition for 26 years prior to winning the 2000 presidenttial election in Senegal. Between 1978 and 2012, Wade ran for president seven times.

4. Rupiah Banda, Zambia.

Banda was the president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011. in 2011, he steeped down after losing a re-election bid to opposition leader Michael Sata.

5. Abdou Diouf, Senegal.

Diouf served as the second president of senegal from 1981 to 2000. He is notable both for coming into power by peaceful succeession, and for leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade.

6. Nicephore Soglo, Benin.

Soglo served as a prime minister of Benin between 1990 and 1991. He won the 1991 presidential election and ruled the country till 1996. In March 1996 presidential election, Soglo took first place in the first round, but he was defeated in the second round by Mathieu Kerekou, who received 53.49% of the votes.

7. Pierre Buyoya, Burundi.

Pierre Buyoya came into power after a military coup. He ruled Burundi twice from 1987 to 1993, and lost the presidential election to Melchior Ndadaye. Buyoya came to power in 1996 back after the second military coup. In 2003, the international community convinced him to create an ethnically inclusive government and hand over power.

8. Mathieu Kerekou, Benin.

Mathieu Kerekou first seized power in Benin in a military coup in 1972. He ruled his country for 29yrs before losing an election to his former prime minister Nicephore Soglo in 1991.

9. Andre Kolingba, Central African Republic.

Andre Kolingba was the fourth president of the Central African Republic (between 1981 to 1993). He took over power from president David Dacko in a bloodless military coup in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Felix Patasse in a democratic election held in 1993.

10. Nelson Mandela, SouthAfrica.

In April 1994,  the Mandela led ANC won SouthAfrica’s first election by universal suffrage, and on May 10, Mandela was sworn in as president of the country’s first multi-ethnic government. Mandela resigned his post with the ANC in December 1997, transferring leadership of the party to his designated successor, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela did not seek a second term as South African president and was succeeded by Mbeki in 1999.

11. Thabo Mbeki, South  Africa.

Thabo Mbeki served nine years as the second post apartheid president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. On 20 September 2008, with about nine months left in his second term, Mbeki announced his resignation  after being recalled by the National executive committee of the ANC.

Source: 36ng

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