Hundreds throng Parliament as term limits debate gets underway

Hundreds of Rwandans have turned up at the Parliamentary Building this morning to follow the long-awaited debate on the presidential term limits. Both chambers of the legislature – the Senate and Chamber of Deputies – this morning started scruitinising millions of petitions from around the country seeking the amendment of Article 101 of the Constitution to pave way for President Paul Kagame to seek another term in office come 2017. The proposal to amend the constitution has been backed by Rwandans from all religious denominations. (Faustin Niyigena) Kagame is currently serving his second and last seven-year term in office, having first assumed the presidency in April 2000 during the transitional period, before going on to win the country’s first ever democratic election in 2013 and then getting re-elected in 2010. Hundreds of Rwandans from across the country queue to enter Parliament as early as 7am. The event started at 9am today. (Faustin Niyigena) Parliament decided to schedule sessions to debate the issue after millions of petitions from people of all walks of life, both in Rwanda and in the Diaspora, were sent to the House, asking the MPs to call for a referendum on the term limits. The public gallery sections of both chambers are packed with citizens from different parts of the country as debate on the third term issue gets underway. (Faustin Niyigena) According to Article 193 of the Constitution, a referendum on proposed amendment of the presidential term limits can take place after such a proposal has been backed by a three-quarter majority of either chamber of the bicameral Parliament. Scores of citizens are checked before entering the venue. (Faustin Niyigena) The petitioners also cite Article 2 of the Constitution which stipulates that power to govern the country is derived from the people. Parliament recieved millions of petitions seeking lifting term limits from the Constitution to allow President Kagame to seek another term in office. (Faustin Niyigena) Parliament will also be examining two petitions – one from the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and the other from a resident of Rwamagana District – demanding that Article 101 should not be changed to allow President Kagame to extend his rule, with the opposition party also requesting that the length of a single presidential term be reduced to four or five years. The debate in Parliament has attracted a large number of people. (Faustin Niyigena) Those who want Kagame, 58, to remain in office credit him with leading the struggle to stop the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, liberating the country and restoring its dignity, setting it on a path to sustainable development, and promoting inclusive politics, gender equality, among others.

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Hundreds throng Parliament as term limits debate gets underway