Unlimited Presidential Reelection Breaches Convention Standards [1]
On August 13, 2021, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued a press release [3] concerning a decision made in June of this year regarding reelection processes, in response to a question submitted by Colombia. This decision concerned the question of whether unlimited reelection terms are lawful in the context of Inter-American human rights policy and the notion of representative democracy. The Court’s key arguments were the following: 1) reelection is not a singular human right; 2) the ban on this practice is both justified and supported by the rule of law; 3) the loss for individuals who feel their rights are being impeded by this restriction is minimal since this ban adds consistency and, in fact, upholds democratic principles; 4) unlimited presidential terms negatively impact the separation of powers dynamic and offers no chance of party opposition or equitable opportunity. The IACtHR stressed the potential threat posed by authoritarianism, which can manifest despite majority vote, and added that any one person can possess an advantage if they remain in office continuously. Unlimited reelections were judged as a breach of the precedents outlined in both the American Convention as well as the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. The original opinion [4] is written in Spanish for reference.