Rwandans lining up to attend the parliamentary debate on term limits. Photo Credit: The New Times

3.7 million Rwandans on Tuesday chose to remove the two-term presidential limit in a signed petition to parliament supporting a constitutional change. This will allow President Paul Kagame a third term run in 2017. Hundreds of Rwandans turned up at the Parliamentary Building to follow the long-awaited debate on the presidential term limits according to The New Times. 

Mr Kagame who is currently serving his second and last seven-year term in office, has always said it is up to the Rwandan people to decide. He has served as Rwandan President since April 2000 during the transitional period, before winning the country’s first ever democratic election in 2013 and re-election in 2010.

Kagame’s supporters credit him for, among others, leading the struggle to stop the 1994 Genocide and setting the country on a path to sustainable development. Nkusi Juvenal, a member of parliament for the Social Democratic Party (PSD) said “3.7 million Rwandans have spoken, we have no option but to listen to their pleas.”

The president of Rwanda’s main opposition Democratic Green Party, Frank Habineza, stated his disappointment with parliament’s vote on the constitutional amendment. “We are very disappointed today because we don’t see any reason why the parliament rush[ed] into such a discussion because they know very well that the Supreme Court is set to hear our case on the 29^th of July which is just two weeks away,” he said.

Interview with Frank Habineza from Voice of America

The Democratic Green Party had gone to the Supreme Court to ask the court to stop parliament from changing the constitution, and to give a deeper understanding of Article 101 and 193. However, they were still finding a lawyer to represent them.

Third term talks have recently caused violence in neighbouring Burundi while Uganda voted out the two-term limit ten years ago.

The post Rwanda to hold referendum on presidential term limit first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The electoral commission decided to meet Betty Kamya today five days back. The electoral commission chief,Eng.Badru Kiggundu wanted Kamya to tell the commission the best approach towards the party’s interest to organise the referendum in 2015.

The meeting between the electoral commission officials and Betty Kamya took place today at 10:00am at the head offices of the electoral commission.

The 1995 constitution ofUgandaunder Article 74(3) allows the commission to organise a referendum on any given issue of national concern. Betty Kamya says that her party is currently mobilizing Ugandan voters to sign on documents requesting the commission to organise the referendum.

By Christine Kate

The post Betty Kamya meets Uganda Electoral Commission officials first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.