When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for life".
[2] In the Roman Republic, a law was passed imposing a limit of a single term on the office of censor.
The annual magistrates, including the tribune of the plebs, the aedile, the quaestor, the praetor, and the consul, were forbidden reelection until a number of years had passed.
Successive Roman leaders weakened this restriction until Julius Caesar became a perpetual dictator and ended the republic.
[7] Many post-Soviet republics established presidential systems with five-year term limits after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
[10] A predecessor of modern term limits in the Americas dates 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.
[citation needed] In 1948, the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion abolished the term limit for the President of the Republic of China and established Chiang Kai-shek as the country's military leader.
[18][19] Between 1982 and 2018, the Constitution of China stipulated that the president, vice president, premier and vice premiers could not serve more than two consecutive terms, though there was no term limit for the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, who usually represented the paramount leader of China.
In March 2018, the National People's Congress passed a set of constitutional amendments, including abolishing the term limits for the president and vice president, as well as enhancing the central role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), allowing CCP leader Xi Jinping to continue as paramount leader indefinitely.
This rule makes Malaysia among two constitutional monarchies in the world that is subjected to a term limit, the other being Andorra (with the President of France serving as one of its co-princes).
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Rwanda, and Togo were the only countries to establish them, but they were abolished soon afterward.
[citation needed] In Kenya, the 2010 constitution limits the president to a maximum of two five-year terms just like county governors.
Kibaki ruled for ten years, in a tenure that was characterized by major political reforms leading to the 2010 constitution.
A member of President Ruto's United Democratic Alliance party revealed plans to scrap the term limits on 7 November 2022 but the leadership dismissed him saying that was his personal opinion which he was entitled to.
[26] In Sub-Saharan Africa, only Ghana (since 1993), Kenya (since 1964), and Nigeria (since 1999) have experienced a peaceful transition of power from one president to another after the expiry of term limits.
This is because such leaders rarely have a set "term" at all: rather, they serve as long as they have the confidence of the parliament, a period which could potentially last for life.
[citation needed] Due in part to a lack of legal term limits in African countries, Mo Ibrahim created the Ibrahim Prize with an associated cash prize to incentivize African leaders to promote human rights and democratic transfer of power.
[36] Presidents are more likely to be successful in violating term limits if they control the other branches of government, whether through their political parties or through insufficient checks and balances.
In some cases, a president may circumvent term limits by officially stepping down from office but maintaining de facto control of the government.