Hugo Chavez is not only a wonderful leader to the people of Venezuela he
has also been a great friend to The Gambia. His socialist policies have lifted
millions of his people out of poverty and many Gambian students have been
educated through Venezuelan scholarships. Despite all these things the news
that he has won the referendum allowing him to seek re-election on as many
occasions as he pleases is simply bad news for democracy. The two-term system
employed by the United
States and many other countries around the
world, whereby a person can only seek two terms or stay in power for a set
number years, is the best system in international politics. It ensures that new
ideas to benefit the people of the nation are introduced on a regular basis and
prohibits people from becoming too comfortable in power or with the lifestyle
that comes with power. No man or woman has all the answers so the people should
be allowed on a regular basis to a change of personnel at the head of their
country.
We have seen far too often over the years that when people
stay in power for too long they fall victim to its corrupting influence. They
feather their own nests and cling jealously to the power they have come to
regard as their own. This is very unhealthy for democracy.
Once again we reiterate our undying support for President
Hugo Chavez and the wonderful work he is doing with his nation's oil revenues
in alleviating poverty but we also beg him to revisit this referendum result
and allow his people to elect a successor after a set amount of time or a set
number of terms.
