Everything about Term Limits totally explained
A
term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of
terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. Term limits are found usually in
presidential and
semi-presidential systems as a method to curb the potential for dictatorships, where a leader effectively becomes "
president for life". There are different types of term limits. Sometimes, there's an absolute limit on the number of terms a person can serve, while in other cases, the restrictions are merely on the number of
consecutive terms a person can serve.
Use of term limits
Term limits have a long history.
Ancient Greece and
Ancient Rome, two early civilizations which had
elected offices, both imposed limits on some positions. In ancient
Athenian democracy, no citizen could serve on the council of 500, or
boule, for two consecutive annual terms, nor for more than two terms in his lifetime, nor be head of the
boule more than once. In the
Roman Republic, a law was passed imposing a limit of a single term on the office of
censor. The annual magistrates—
tribune of the plebs,
aedile,
quaestor,
praetor, and
consul—were forbidden reelection until a number of years had passed. (see
cursus honorum,
Constitution of the Roman Republic).
Many modern
presidential republics employ term limits for their highest offices. The
United States, one of the first countries of the modern era to have elected political offices, placed a limit of two terms on its
presidency by means of the
22nd Amendment to the
United States Constitution in 1951. There are no term limits for
members of Congress—
Representatives and
Senators, although there have been calls for term limits for those offices. Under various
state laws some
state governors and
state legislators have term limits. Formal limits in America date back to the 1682
Pennsylvania Charter of Liberties, and the colonial frame of government of the same year, authored by
William Penn and providing for triennial rotation of the provincial council, the upper house of the
colonial legislature. (See also
term limits in the United States).
Russian Federation has a common rule for head of state, though allows
the President to serve more than two terms if they're not consecutive. For governors of
federal subjects, the same two-term limit acted in 1990's, but since 2004 there's no term limits for governors.
Term limits are also common in
Latin America, where most countries are also presidential republics. Early in the last century, the Mexican revolutionary Francisco Madero, popularized the slogan
Sufragio Efectivo, no Reelección (effective suffrage, no reelection). In keeping with that principle, members of the
Congress of Mexico (the
Chamber of Deputies and
Senate) can't be reelected for the next immediate term under article 50 and 59 of the
Constitution of Mexico, adopted in 1917. Likewise, the
President of Mexico is limited to a single six-year term. This makes avery presidential election in Mexico, to produce a non-incumbent election.
Countries which operate a
parliamentary system of government are less likely to employ term limits on their leaders. This is because such leaders rarely have a set "term" at all: rather, they serve as long as they've the
confidence of the
parliament, a period which could potentially last for life. Nevertheless, such countries may impose term limits on the holders of other offices—in republics, for example, a ceremonial presidency may have a term limit, especially if the office holds
reserve powers.
Term limits may be divided into two broad categories: consecutive and lifetime. With consecutive term limits, a legislator is limited to serving a particular number of years in that particular office. Upon hitting the limit in one office or chamber, a legislator may run for election to the other chamber or leave the legislature. After a set period of time (usually two years), the clock resets on the limit, and the legislator may run for election to his/her original seat and serve up to the limit again.
With lifetime limits, on the other hand, once a legislator has served up to the limit, she/he may never again run for election to that office. Lifetime limits are much more restrictive than consecutive limits.
Offices of local government, such as a
mayoralty, may also have term limits.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Term Limits'.
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