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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Partial results show Rwandans vote to lift term limits for President Kagame |
| 2015-12-19 |
| [USNEWS] The head of Rwanda's electoral commission said late Friday partial results show Rwandans have voted to lift term limits in order to allow President Paul Kagame extend his rule. Why not just call the bastards "kings" and be done with it? More than 98 percent from 21 out of 30 districts, representing 70 percent of registered voters, voted to lift term limits for Kagame, Mbanda Kalisa said. Kagame's supporters celebrated the announcement in the capital, Kigali. Kagame, 58, is ineligible to run in 2017 because the Rwandan constitution limits a president to two terms. But if Rwandans approve the referendum, Kagame would be able to run for an additional seven-year term and then two-five year terms, which means he could possibly stay in power until 2034. Kagame became president in 2000 after being Rwanda's de facto leader since the end of the country's genocide in 1994. He is credited with stabilizing the country and promoting economic growth after the mass killings, but critics say he is an authoritarian ruler who does not tolerate opposition and he is accused of human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. abuses. |
| Posted by:Fred |