Monday, June 29, 2009

Term limit - Honduras, India

Honduras is going through rough times. The president tried to extend the term limit of his presidency indefinitely through a referendum and a got into trouble with the constitutional entities such as Congress and the Supreme court. Military stepped in, on directions from the Supreme court, and removed the elected President and handed over power to Congress. The validity of the action is questioned by many States including the US. The events are still unfolding at this time.

It raises an interesting question for India. There are no term limits for the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister. We have a 80+ year old man on the wheel chair running a state for the 5th time. Although our Presidents have two term limit, we don't have term limits for our PMs and CMs.

In US, the first president George Washington set a precedence by stepping down after two terms. That was followed for a long time until FDR stayed in power for 4 times during WWII. The US constitution was amended in 1951 that set the term limit to two times for a President.

Is it time to set such limit for elected officials in India? I understand we need the wisdom of the experienced to govern. But should they be at the helm of the demanding executive branch or serve as consultants to the young and able as needed?

Here is an interesting discussion thread on the topic.

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