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Putin Brings Term Limits Into Question



Love him, hate him, or simply don't care about him, Vladimir Putin will be allowed to serve as President of Russia for the foreseeable future. But one thing that many sensationalist headlines are ignoring, is that he actually has to be elected to continue in his role as the Russian head of state. Whether you think Russia has fair elections or not, it brings a broader question into the fore; should political term limits even exist?

Let’s move west of the Kremlin, and think about this political situation with some leaders who are more favourable to westerners than the beast from the east. Barack Obama was not allowed to run for a third term in office in 2016, ultimately leading to the election of Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton was simply not as likeable as Obama, something that wasn’t helped by the email scandal or her attack on republican supporters that had an affect on the middle ground. Obama, a much more liked public figure, would have surely retained the White House for a third term were he allowed to run.

In Ireland, President Michael D. Higgins, is currently serving his second and final term, after proving to be the most popular candidate by some margin during the 2018 election. Yes, he’s old, but we can’t write off people purely on their age, remember Dev was 90 when he finished his second term in Áras an Uachtaráin. In all likelihood, Michael D. would win a third term in office if he were willing and allowed to run.

Not wanting to turn this article into a list of popular presidents and former presidents from around the world, we’ll move on to the question again, should term limits exist?

From a democratic perspective, nobody should be excluded for running for election, for any reason, at the end of the day democracy is about the will of the people. If a president is running for their fifth term in office, and they receive the support of 50+% of the electorate, then that is the will of the people. By forbidding someone to run for office, it will never be known for sure if the will of the people has been betrayed or followed.

On the other hand, there are some theoretical downsides to not having a term limit. For one, the goalposts could be moved during the president’s term, giving them an advantage. An example of this is in the US where in some states, convicted felons are routinely denied and then granted their supposed ‘right’ to vote. According to the documentary 13th, this is because many felons are black, and 90+% of black people vote for Democrats. So when a Democrat is in power, they can vote; when a Republican is in power they can’t. Again, I want to emphasise that this is not across the entire US.

There is also something known as the ‘Incumbent Advantage’, which means that the person who already holds the office, has an advantage over a newcomer, as they are more well known by their constituency. This is often exaggerated do dissuade challengers, but it does exist to some degree. However it is arguable that party support levels and the state of the economy play a much larger role in elections, and after all aren’t all elections based on the state of economic and social issues, rather than incumbency?

Terms limits seem to be here for the long-haul, but should they be?


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