List of political term limits

This is a list of term limits for heads of state and other important public officers by country.

Contents

Africa

Country Head of state Other
Title Maximum number of terms Office Maximum number of terms
 Angola President Currently no term limits; two five-year terms, starting from 2012
 Benin President Two five-year terms
 Botswana President Two five-year terms Vice President Two five-year terms
 Burundi President Two five-year terms
 Cape Verde President Two five-year terms
 Central African Republic President Two five-year terms
 Comoros President Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms
 Democratic Republic of the Congo President Two five-year terms
 Republic of the Congo President Two seven-year terms
 Egypt President Currently no term limits; two four-year terms, starting from the 2011 presidential election
 Ethiopia President Two six-year terms
 Ghana President Two four-year terms Vice President Two four-year terms
 Kenya President Two five-year terms
 Liberia President Two six-year terms
 Madagascar President Two five-year terms
 Malawi President Two five-year terms
 Mali President Two five-year terms
 Mauritania President Two five-year terms
 Mauritius President Two five-year terms
 Mozambique President Two five-year terms
 Namibia President Two five-year terms
 Niger President Two five-year terms
 Nigeria President Two four-year terms
 Rwanda President Two seven-year terms
 São Tomé and Príncipe President Two five-year terms
 Seychelles President Three five-year terms
 Sierra Leone President Two five-year terms
 South Africa President Two five-year terms
 Tanzania President Two five-year terms Vice President Two five-year terms
 Zambia President Two five-year terms

Asia

Country Head of state Other
Title Maximum number of terms Office Maximum number of terms
 Afghanistan President Two five-year terms
 Armenia President Two five-year terms
 Bangladesh President Two five-year terms
 China President Two five-year terms (Two terms of National People's Congress session) Vice President Two five-year terms (Two terms of National People's Congress session)
 Georgia President Two five-year terms
 Hong Kong Chief Executive Two five-year terms
 Indonesia President Two five-year terms Vice President Two five-year terms
 Iran President Two consecutive and one non-consecutive four-year terms
 Iraq President Two four-year terms
 Israel President One seven-year term
 Japan Prime Minister 2 term limits, each term 3 years
 Kazakhstan President Currently no term limits; a constitutional amendment passed in 2007 establishes a two five-year term limit after incumbent president Nursultan Nazarbayev dies or leaves office
 Kyrgyzstan President Currently two five-year terms; one six-year term, starting from the 2011 Kyrgyz presidential election
 Lebanon President Unlimited non-consecutive six-year terms
 Macau Chief Executive Two five-year terms
 Maldives President Two five-year terms
 Mongolia President Two five-year terms
 Philippines President One six-year term Vice President One six-year term
Senators Two six-year terms
Representatives of the House Three three-year terms
All other local government officials Three three-year terms
 South Korea President One five-year term
 Sri Lanka President Two six-year terms
 Taiwan President Two four-year terms since 1994[1][2] Vice President Two four-year terms
 Tajikistan President Two seven-year terms
 Thailand Prime Minister Two four-year terms
 Timor-Leste President Two five-year terms
 Uzbekistan President Two seven-year terms

Europe

Country Head of state Other
Title Maximum number of terms Office Maximum number of terms
 Albania President Two five-year terms
 Austria President Two six-year terms
 Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency members Two consecutive four-year terms
 Bulgaria President Two five-year terms Vice President Two five-year terms
 Croatia President Two five-year terms
 Cyprus President Two five-year terms
 Czech Republic President Two five-year terms
 Estonia President Two five-year terms
 European Union President of the European Council Two two-and-a-half year terms President of the European Commission Unlimited five-year terms
President of the European Central Bank One eight-year term
 Finland President Two six-year terms
 France President Two consecutive five-year terms [3]
 Germany President Two five-year terms
 Greece President Two five-year terms
 Hungary President Two five-year terms
 Ireland President Two seven-year terms
 Latvia President Two four-year terms
 Lithuania President Two five-year terms
 Macedonia President Two five-year terms
 Malta President Two five-year terms
 Moldova President Two four-year terms
 Montenegro President Two five-year terms
 Poland President Two five-year terms
 Portugal President Two five-year terms Presidents of local authorities (concelho and freguesia) Three consecutive four-year terms
 Romania President Two five-year terms
 Russia President Two consecutive four-year terms; in 2008, the constitution was amended to allow presidents to serve two consecutive six-year terms, to be effective from 2012 [4]
 San Marino Captain-Regent Unlimited non-consecutive six-month terms
 Serbia President Two five-year terms
 Slovakia President Two five-year terms
 Slovenia President Two five-year terms
 Switzerland President of the Confederation Unlimited non-consecutive one-year terms Vice President of the Confederation Unlimited non-consecutive one-year terms
 Turkey President Two five-year terms [5]
 United Kingdom Prime Minister No restrictions on length of, or number of, terms of office. The Queen must dissolve Parliament and call a general election at least every five years. A sitting PM can ask for dissolution of Parliament (and thus a general election) at any point during his term, or a negative vote of confidence in the Government by the House of Commons can essentially collapse the Government and lead to a general election. Lord Speaker Two five-year terms. [6]
 Ukraine President Two consecutive five-year terms

Oceania

Country Head of state Other
Title Maximum number of terms Office Maximum number of terms
 Australia Governor-General No term limits, but traditionally serve for one five year term or at the 'pleasure' of the Queen of Australia.
 Federated States of Micronesia President Two four-year terms Vice President Two four-year terms
 Fiji President Two five-year terms Vice President Two five-year terms
 Kiribati President Three four-year terms Vice President Three four-year terms
 Marshall Islands President Two four-year terms
 Nauru President Two three-year terms
 Palau President Two four-year terms Vice President Two four-year terms
 Samoa Chief of State Two five-year terms
 Solomon Islands Governor-General Two five-year terms
 Vanuatu President One five-year term

The Americas

Country Head of state Other
Title Maximum number of terms Office Maximum number of terms
 Argentina President Two consecutive four-year terms Vice President Two consecutive four-year terms
 Bolivia President Two five-year terms Vice President Two five-year terms
 Brazil President Two four-year terms Vice President Two four-year terms
 Canada Governor-General Five-year term, although the length of the term may be extended by the Queen of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister
 Chile President Unlimited non-consecutive four-year terms
 Colombia President Two four-year terms Vice President Two four-year terms
 Costa Rica President Unlimited non-consecutive four-year terms
 Dominican Republic President Two four-year terms Vice President Two four-year terms
 Ecuador President Two four-year terms Vice President Two four-year terms
 El Salvador President One five-year term Vice President One five-year term
 Guatemala President One four-year term Vice President Unlimited non-consecutive four-year terms
 Guyana President Two five-year terms
 Haiti President Two non-consecutive five-year terms
 Honduras President One four-year term Vice President One four-year term
 Mexico President One six-year term (sexenio)
 Nicaragua President Two five-year terms Vice President Two five-year terms
 Panama President Two non-consecutive five-year terms Vice President Two non-consecutive five-year terms
 Paraguay President One five-year term Vice President One five-year term
 Peru President Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms
 Trinidad and Tobago President Two five-year terms
 United States President Two four-year terms (except after succeeding to the Presidency and serving for more than two years, in which case they can only be re-elected once).
Main article: Term limits in the United States
Vice President No term limits, but no person ineligible to be President on the basis of term limits is eligible to be Vice-President
Senators and Representatives No term limits
 Uruguay President Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms Vice President Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms

References

  1. ^ Section 6 of Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China
  2. ^ Unlimited six-year terms from 1960 to 1991, under the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion from 1960 to 1991. Two six-year terms from 1947 to 1960 and from 1991 to 1994 under Article 47 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, once frozen by the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion from 1960 to 1991.
  3. ^ "France backs constitution reform". BBC NEWS. July 21, 2008 (2008-07-21). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7517505.stm. 
  4. ^ "Russia approves presidency bill". BBC NEWS. December 22, 2008 (2008-12-22). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7795310.stm. 
  5. ^ "Turks back direct president poll". BBC NEWS. October 21, 2007 (2007-10-21). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7054868.stm. 
  6. ^ "Lord Speaker". BBC NEWS. October 1, 2008 (2008-10-01). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7647026.stm. 

Sources