By Mwakilishi
FILE- Rwandan President Paul Kagame speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York...
The Rwandan Senate on Tuesday unanimously endorsed constitutional amendments that would allow President Paul Kagame to stay in office for another two decades.
The lower house of parliament endorsed the changes earlier this month. They will now be put to a national referendum, where they are expected to win easy approval.
Kagame, 58, has ruled Rwanda since his army ended the 1994 genocide and ousted Hutu extremists frompower.
Under current law, he has to step down at the end of his second elected term in 2017. But the proposed amendments would allow him to run for another seven-year term, followed by two five-year terms, potentially extending his rule until 2034.
The opposition Democratic Green Party of Rwanda said changing the constitution would be a challenge to "sustainable peace andsecurity." It said it would run a "nochange" campaign ahead of the referendum. Officials have not yet announced a date for that vote.
Rwanda is one of the United States' closest African allies, but Washington believes Kagame should not try to keep power beyond the current limit.
"We expect President Kagame to follow through on the commitments he has made previously to foster a new generation of leaders in Rwanda and to step down at the end of his current term in 2017," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday.
Toner did not say what steps the U.S. would consider if Kagame tried to hang on topower. Efforts by leaders in other African countries to extend their rule, including Burkina Faso, Burundi and Senegal, have led to violence.
Rwanda has so far seen no protests against Kagame, who has won widespread popular support by maintaining peace and building up the Central African country's economy. But critics say his government suppresses freedom of speech and does not tolerate dissent.
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Wed, 11/18/2015 05:58AM -0400
#1
This is where African nations are going south. Constitutions cannot be changed to keep people in power regardless of how well they think the country is moving. In the western world, Clinton left the US with surplus $$ and Obama is + that he can win a 3rd yet you don't see this nonsense of trying to extend. Great leaders give others a chance!
Wed, 11/18/2015 11:54AM -0400
#2
Nothing in Africa surprises me anymore. I can already see it: Succession planning is a "western construct" that the colonialists, who do not understand 'our ways' want to impose on us! Yes indeed, Peter Abrahams' "African Mystique" at work....yet again!
Wed, 11/18/2015 01:38PM -0400
#3
at this point with what is going on in Kenya, I would rather have a performing leader for life than have a million elections of extremely corrupt guys like uhuruto, Rao, musyoka and you know the whole gang. Just to have elections to tick a box and make westerners happy does not make much sense to me. I think Kagame has kept his country together and at a very solid economic footing. Africa will not be a perfect democracy overnight. What has multiple elections since the inception of multi-partyism given to Kenya. Same old same old and violence.Kenya is rotten to the core.
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