Rwandan President Paul
Kagame takes his place for a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
during the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations in Manhattan,
New York, October 2, 2015.
REUTERS/ANDREW KELLY
Rwanda's lower house of parliament voted on
Thursday to allow President Paul Kagame to extend his rule beyond a second term
that ends in 2017 and possibly stay on until 2034, a move opposed by the United
States and other aid donors.
Draft amendments to the constitution approved
by the lower house still have to be backed by the upper house and also put to a
referendum, but are not expected to stumble at either stage.
After debates on Wednesday and Thursday,
lawmakers agreed that presidential terms be cut to five years from seven with a
limit of two terms, but an exception has been made for Kagame.
Parliament, dominated by Kagame's allies and
supporters, debated the issue after a petition calling for changes was signed
by 3.7 million supporters of the rebel-turned-president who is credited with
rebuilding Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.
Rwanda's main but tiny opposition, the
Democratic Green Party, tried to block the amendment to extend Kagame's term,
but a court rejected the bid. Critics say the government stifles opposition
politicians and media, a charge officials deny.
Speaker of the 80-seat lower house, Donatille
Mukabalisa, said Article 172 of the amended constitution was supported by all
75 lawmakers present and meant Kagame could stay on until 2034. "No law
stops him," she told a news conference.
Kagame has not said explicitly he wants to run
again but has said he is open to persuasion.
Article 172 allows Kagame to serve out his
seven-year term that ends in 2017 and also to seek a third seven-year term
after that. Even beyond that he could seek two more five-year terms, a lawmaker
said, explaining the amendment.
The debate about term limits has flared across
Africa.
In Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza
sparked months of protests and a failed coup when he decided in April to run
for a third term. Opponents said it violated the constitution and deal that
ended a civil war there. A court ruled he could run again.
In Congo Republic, voters backed a change to
allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to run for a third consecutive term. The
opposition had called for a boycott of that vote.
Kagame won international and domestic praise
for rebuilding Rwanda after the chaos of the 1990s. Some 800,000 people, most
of them Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were massacred before rebel forces led by
Kagame ended the genocide.
KIGALI |
(Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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