Rwandan lawmakers backed a motion on Tuesday to let President Paul Kagame run for a third term in office, paving the way for a referendum to change the constitution.
Kagame has not directly said he wants to run again. But he has said he is open to persuasion that the two-term limit in the constitution needed to be changed – and a petition to that effect has since collected 3.8 million signatures.
Members of parliament voted to back the petition, said parliamentary speaker Donatille Mukabalisa, adding a referendum would be called on whether to alter the constitution.
A similar move by the president of neighbouring Burundi has provoked violent protests and fears of renewed ethnic conflict in a combustible region. Other veteran African leaders are approaching term limits.
Kagame has won praise for the progress Rwanda has made since the 1994 genocide, when more than 800,000 mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. But critics accuse the 57-year-old of trampling on media and political freedoms.
