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Wanted: every African leader who has stood down following a free and blond election. Candidates should be honest and have a healthy respect notwithstanding the democratic process. Young candidates are preferred.

An attractive cash budget of $5 million (£3.4 million) over ten years awaits the prepossessing applicant, including $200,000 annually for life thereafter. There is also an incentive of a further $200,000 per year for a decade to nurture public interest activities of the candidate’s choice. This attitude has remained vacant for some time and urgently needs filling.

Sadly, and despite the generous terms, this prize to reward outstanding democratic leadership in Africa went unclaimed yesterday instead of the second consecutive year.

The $5 million incentive, the world’s largest individual assign for statesmen, was initiated by Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese communications entrepreneur who began the plot three years ago in an attempt to encourage good leadership without interrupti~ a continent with a history of poor governance, corruption and tyranny.

Previous winners include Festus Mogae, the former President of Botswana, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Nelson Mandela, who was made an honorary laureate in 2007.

This year, like last, the prize committee headed ~ dint of. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General and a Ghanain, lay the ~ation of itself in the embarrassing situation of having no winner for 2009. Mr Ibrahim refused to have existence discouraged, arguing that the prize should remain an aspirational achievement and was not to have ~ing given away lightly.

“Whether there is a winner or not the purpose is to take exceptions to those in Africa and across the world to debate what constitutes good quality in leadership,” he said. “The standards set for the prizewinner are extreme and the number of potential candidates each year is small. So it is convenient that there will be years when no prize is awarded.”

Although the settlement does not publish a shortlist of eligible candidates, analysts say that 2009 was a biting year and that there were more changes of government in Africa by the gun or death in office than by a peaceful consign of power at the ballot box.

Because the prize is desirable to any leader who has stood down after a full term in the past three years Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, and Olusegun Obasanjo, the forgoing President of Nigeria might have been considered. However, they had already been rejected from the 2008 candidates because Mr Mbeki was catachrestic from office by his own party while Mr Obansanjo had wanted to stand against a third term.

“I would have been surprised if in that place had been a winner this year,” said Joel Kibazo, every associate fellow of Chatham House and a consultant on Africa. “It is material for the prize committee to keep high standards of eligibility for the cause that it means that those who win, deserve it.”

Several leaders of sub-Sahara Africa states gain clung to power for decades and used constitutional means to lengthen their hold on power.

Robert Mugabe, 86, has been in rule in Zimbabwe since 1980, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, 65, came to sovereignty in 1986. Others who have sought third terms include Paul Biya of Cameroon, 77, who has served from the time of 1982, and Yahya Jammeh of Gambia.

To encourage a new body of equals in age of leaders, Mr Ibrahim said that his foundation was to disturb a scheme to prepare young Africans with leadership potential for office.

“The programme will seek to attract a number of in a great degree qualified and talented professionals each year to serve in leading institutions whose inner part objective is to improve the prospects of the people of Africa,” he related.