RPF backs constitutional amendment on term limits

Senior cadres of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) have announced their support for the amendment of the Constitution to allow the lifting of Rwanda’s presidential term limits. The party’s backing builds on the 3.7 million petitions the Parliament has received from Rwandans across the country and in the Diaspora calling for amendments within the constitution. In a communiqué issued, Sunday, at the end of their two-day retreat in Gasabo district, Kigali, the RPF members said the reason why they support the amendment is the need to align the constitution to the current needs and priorities for the country. The priorities outlines include continued stability, accelerated prosperity and social cohesion. The retreat drew more than 600 top cadres. At the retreat, the party members discussed the social and economic progress Rwanda has achieved to date since the end of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and brainstormed on how to maintain the country’s path to prosperity. Reports presented by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Amb. Claver Gatete, indicated that Rwanda has achieved a lot, including improvements in various areas such as rapid poverty reduction, achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and growth in per capita income. Rwanda’s uniqueness requires a special governance style and a special leadership to ensure that the exceptional solutions that Rwanda has adopted to its problems are maintained, the communiqué reads in part. The cadres also upheld the principle that Rwandans retain the right to decide the type of governance they need and want depending on whether it leads them to prosperity and expressed their support for citizens calling for Constitutional amendment. Petitions to Parliament The millions of Rwandans who have petitioned Parliament to change Article 101 of the Constitution have been inspired by the leadership of President Kagame whom they want to keep at the helm. Other main opposition political parties in the country have also called for the same amendment. Petitioners say that they derive legitimacy to seek the lifting of term limits from Article 193 of the Constitution, which indicates that Article 101 can be amended through a referendum upon approval by both chambers of Parliament. “Considering the wishes of many Rwandans and those of members of the RPF-Inkotanyi, we support the proposed amendment of Article 101 of the Constitution and any other provisions in the law that need modification,” reads part of the communiqué. The RPF members encouraged continued, broader and deeper debates about the proposed constitutional amendment to ensure that all those concerned by the country’s future have their voices and views heard. Parliament has agreed to debate the issue in its current term, which started early this month and ends in early August. Among other resolutions, the RPF members vowed to fast-track the needed capacity-building to ensure that more Rwandans get out of poverty and their living standard improved, as well as work towards getting rid of any fears about a stable Rwanda in the future. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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RPF backs constitutional amendment on term limits