The United States said on Friday it is opposed to a third term in office for Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Rwanda’s Parliament is expected to consider an amendment to the country’s constitution that would lift a two-term limit on presidential terms and potentially enable Mr Kagame to seek re-election in 2017.
Rwanda’s 2003 constitution limits the number of presidential terms to two and therefore bars Kagame -elected first in 2003 and again in 2010 – from standing for a third term.
Rwanda is a key US ally in Africa, with Washington also ranking as one of Rwanda’s leading donors. The Obama administration’s stand against a possible third term for Mr Kagame will thus be seen as significant in Kigali and throughout the Great Lakes region.
Washington has long supported 57-year-old Kagame, the Tutsi former rebel leader who led the offensive that ended a 1994 genocide by Huti extremists and led the country’s revival.
But the US official made it clear that the United States would not back any attempt to modify the constitution to keep its ally in office beyond the next scheduled election.
Rwandan officials deny that Kagame himself is behind moves to review the constitution, insisting they are responding to popular demand from his loyal supporters.
But recent similar moves in other African countries have provoked unrest.Rwanda’s southern neighbor Burundi has been gripped by weeks of unrest and even a coup attempt as President Pierre Nkurunziza prepares to run for re-election.
