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Rwandan senate votes to allow President Kagame a third term
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda waits to address attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 29, 2015. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
By Clement Uwiringiyimana
17/11/2015
KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda's senate on Tuesday unanimously approved a draft constitution to allow President Paul Kagame to seek a third term in office, the head of the senate said, clearing the path for a referendum that is not expected to face much opposition.
Kagame, in power since 2000, won widespread praise for his role in ending a genocide in 1994 of some 800,000 people, most of them Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and for his rebuilding efforts after the conflict ceased.
But while praising Rwanda's economic and social development since then, rights groups say the government severely restricts freedom of expression and does not tolerate dissent, charges the government denies.
Kagame is the latest long-serving ruler in Africa to attempt to extend his hold on power. Similar moves have already sparked violence and instability in Burundi and Congo Republic. So far there has been no unrest in Rwanda.
"The change (of the constitution) was voted for by 26 senators. No one refused it," Bernard Makuza, senate president, said after the vote.
The draft amendments to the constitution have already been approved by the lower house. The amendments could see Kagame, who was first elected president in 2003, staying on until 2034.
The Democratic Green Party, Rwanda's only one genuine opposition party, which is tiny and has no seats in parliament, has tried to block the amendments through legal action, but the Supreme Court rejected its bid, saying it would depend on the will of the citizens.
Critics accuse Kagame, 57, of trampling on media and political freedoms, a charge officials deny. The government says it cannot be blamed if opponents fail to win at the ballot box.
A date for a referendum has yet to be decided.
In Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision in April to run for a third term triggered months of protests and a failed coup. Opponents said the move violated the constitution and a 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 and numerous protests have ended in violence.
(Reporting by Clement; Uwiringiyimana; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
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